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THE 

DIVINE PARACLETE. 

A SHORT SERIES OY 

SERMONS 

UPON THK 

Person and Office of the Holy Ghost. 



BY THE \// 

Very Rev. THOMAS S. PRESTON, V.G., 

Pastor of St. Ann's Church, New York. 

"O how good and sweet, O Lord, is Thy Spirit in us.' 

—Mass of the Holy Ghost. 



NEW YORK : 
ROBERT CODDINGTON, PUBLISHER, 

246 Fourth Avenue. 
* 1879. 




The Library 

op Congress 



WASHINGTON 



Copyright. 1879. by 
The Very Rev. THOMAS S. PRESTON. V.G. 



i 

H. J. HEWITT, PRINTER; 27 ROSE STREET. NEW Y< 




December 21, 1879. 



PREFACE. 



THE four sermons of this volume are, 
in substance, the same as those 
delivered to the congregation of St. Ann 
on the Sunday evenings of this Advent. 
There is, however, much in them which 
could not well be contained in a short ser- 
ies of popular discourses. The subject 
treated of is so vast and intricate, that 
I have only sought plainly and briefly 
to touch upon the most essential points 
in the doctrine of our sanctification. 
The work of the Holy Ghost, in the 
church and in the hearts of the faith- 
ful, is the great study, as it is the 
great joy, of the enlightened intellect. 
The better we understand it, the more 
entirely are we brought under the gracious 
influence of "the Lord and giver of life," 



iv PREFACE. 

who draws true souls to Himself more 
and more. The world of faith is His 
kingdom, where the realities of divine 
revelation are felt and appreciated. By 
Him we are taken out of the world of 
sense, and taught to live the true life 
which is in God. To Him we owe all 
our supernatural being, from its first 
beginning to its glorious end. Deep 
should be our gratitude and ardent 
our devotion to this blessed Spirit, by 
whose breath we are new born, and by 
whose strength our souls are made meet 
for the inheritance of light. The whole 
economy of grace is found in this devo- 
tion, and in the knowledge which flows 
from it. The church, with all its gifts, 
is the sphere of the sanctifying energy of 
the Holy Ghost ; and no one can properly 
believe in the person and office of the 
divine Paraclete who does not receive 
the Catholic Church as the body of 
Christ, and enter by the open door 



PREFACE. 



V 



thereof into the pastures of life eternal. 
The argument of this brief series of ser- 
mons, while it shows the wonders of 
salvation through the Word incarnate ; 
also demonstrates the divine mission of 
the church, which is "the pillar and 
ground of the truth." 

The immediate occasion which led me 
to preach upon this theme was the 
establishment of " The Confraternity of 
the Servants of the Holy Ghost" in 
the parish of St. Ann. This Confrater- 
nity was erected by His Eminence Car- 
dinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New 
York, on the 26th of August last, and 
was aggregated to the Arehconfraternity 
at Bayswater, London, on the 23d of 
September. The object or end of the 
devotion which it seeks to propagate, is 
indeed a renewal of our whole Christian 
life. 

In the impressive words of His Emi- 
nence, Cardinal Manning: "It seeks to 



vi 



PREFACE. 



awaken in us a consciousness of the 
presence and indwelling of the Holy 
Ghost, not only in the church as a 
whole, but in each one of us. St. 
Augustine says that those who saw the 
miracle of the loaves in the wilderness 
wondered ; but that they had no wonder 
at the daily miracles of the natural 
world, because by habit they had be- 
come unconscious of them. So we are 
unconscious of the internal presence of 
the Spirit of God. We speak of grace, 
but we forget the divine Person whose 
presence and power confer grace upon 
us. The object, then, of this devotion is 
to awaken our consciousness with a per- 
sonal love, with fidelity of conscience, 
and with the fervor of punctual and 
exact obedience. The motives of this 
devotion are these. The Holy Ghost is 
the fountain of all divine Truth to the 
church and to us. The church which 
teaches is guided by His assistance ; the 



PKEFACE. 



vii 



church which believes can therefore never 
err in faith. Pastors and people, by the 
active and passive infallibility which 
comes from the Holy Ghost, are for ever 
kept from error. He is also the sole 
source of our sanctification. The Sancti- 
fier dwelling in the church gives it the 
note of sanctity, and, dwelling in us, 
makes us partakers of His sanctifying 
grace. He is also the author of our 
supernatural life, which, in our regenera- 
tion and our renewal, elevates us to union 
with God. Lastly, He is the giver of all 
grace to the innocent and to the penitent. 
The innocent are kept by Him in their 
baptismal purity and piety, and the 
penitent by miracles of grace are raised 
again by Him from spiritual death. For 
all these motives we owe to Him love, 
worship, and obedience." 

I humbly hope that this little volume 
may, in the divine mercy, aid the mem- 
bers of this Confraternity in their devo- 



Vlll 



PEEFACE. 



tion to the Blessed Spirit, and be a means 
of exciting new and more intelligent pi- 
ety in many hearts. With the know- 
ledge of the Holy Ghost, the spiritual 
life will deepen, and the love of God grow 
stronger in our souls. I have added a 
brief collection of prayers which, if con- 
stantly used, will be more efficacious than 
any exhortations. They are taken prin- 
cipally from the Handbook published in 
London, by the Very Eev. Dr. Rawes, the 
rector of the Archconfraternity, to whose 
untiring zeal, under the kind patronage 
of Cardinal Manning, the Confraternity 
owes its existence and growth. I have 
been impelled to make my offering, and 
to do my humble part in the work of 
spreading the devotion, which, although 
by no means new, is nevertheless a revi- 
val of true faith and sincere, piety. In 
this I have had the constant encourage- 
ment of His Eminence the Cardinal 
Archbishop of New York, who is earnestly 



PREFACE. 



ix 



desirous that the Confraternity should 
increase and multiply in his diocese. No 
one knows better than myself how un- 
worthy is my offering, but I only beg 
the divine Paraclete, to whom I owe 
everything of light and faith, to sanctify 
and bless that, which without Him is 
nothing, but wiiich with His grace may 
in some way redound to His glory and 
the salvation of souls. 

T. S. P. 

New York, Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle, 1879. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Sermon First, . . . 13 

Sermon Second, . • . • • 57 

Sermon Third, . . • 99 

Sermon Fourth, • 148 

Devotions and Prayers for the Confraternity 
of the " Servants of the Holy Ghost." 

I. Indulgences Granted to the Confraternity, ... 211 

II. Rules for the Members, 213 

in. Acts of Oblation, 214 

IV. The Hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus," with the Sequence 

44 Veni Sancte Spiritus," . 216 

V. The Little Office of the Holy Ghost, .... 220 

VI. A Way of Hearing Mass in Honor of the Holy Ghost, 227 

VII. The Proper of the Mass of the Holy Ghost, . . 259 



11 & 12 



Sermon I. 



THE PERSON AND OFFICE OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



" There are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the 
Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. 1 '— 1 St. 
John v. 7. 

I propose, with the divine assistance, 
to devote the sermons of this Advent 
season to a brief and simple explanation 
of the agency of the Holy Spirit in the 
redemption of mankind. The subject is 
of the highest importance, as it lies at 
the foundation of all truth and spiritual 
life; while it is directly connected with 
the whole structure of Christian revela- 
tion. Every verity of our creed, and 
every error opposed to faith find here 
the light which makes truth resplendent, 



14 THE DIVUSTE PARACLETE. 

and puts to flight the shadows of unbe- 
lief. 

' As you are aware, we have recently 
established in this church a religious 
confraternity whose object is to promote, 
and spread more widely devotion and 
filial affection to the Third Person of the 
most holy Trinity. We venture to hope 
that our instructions may be welcome to 
many hearts, and, by the grace of God, 
stimulate them to more zeal in the Chris- 
tian life and burning love to the divine 
Sanctifier, who is the author of our su- 
pernatural life and the fountain of all 
holiness. 

This devotion to the Holy Ghost is a 
necessary part of Christian worship, as 
we adore one God in three Persons, and 
there is no distinction in essence between 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
who are one and the same God. "This 
is the Catholic faith, that we adore one 
God in trinity, and the Trinity in unity, 



THE DIVHSTE PARACLETE. 15 

neither confusing the Persons nor sepa- 
rating the substance. One is the person 
* of the Father, another that of the Son, 
and another that of the Holy Spirit. 
But one is the divinity of the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; the glory 
is equal and the majesty is co-eternal."* 

It would be heresy striking at the 
foundation of Christianity to distinguish 
even in our minds the adoration we pay 
to the three Persons of the Trinity, in 
whose name we are baptized, and by 
whom we are created and sanctified. 
New devotion towards the Third Person 
of the Godhead is only the realization 
of the old and unchangeable truth, the 
bringing into clearer light and action 
that which is essential to our Christian 
confession and spiritual life. 

This is manifest not only from the 
nature of the Holy Spirit as God, but 
also from the fact that, in the plans of 

* Creed of St. Athanasius. 



16 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

the Trinity, and the economy of redemp- 
tion, He is the agent in the application 
of the atonement of Christ, and in the 
sanctification of our souls. To Him we 
owe every good thought, word, or work. 
From Him we receive the gift of super- 
natural life. He, by His divine energy, 
sustains that life once imparted, and 
carries it on to its development in the 
union of our whole being with God. He 
is the soul and living principle of the 
church, .which without Him would be 
only a human organization, subject to 
decay and death. He is the source of 
its unity, and the voice which speaks 
the words of immutable truth. What, 
then, do we not owe of love and gratitude 
to the quickening and sanctifying Spirit ! 

And surely there never was a time 
when men needed more "the aid of His 
purifying influence. We walk amid sha- 
dows, which we often mistake for light. 
Men exalt their little knowledge, and 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 17 

even boast of their ignorance. In the 
pride of their intellects they have arrived 
at the denial of the only source whence 
truth can come. Is it not the very height 
of folly to ignore the being and attri- 
butes of God, and in the assertion of 
self to deny the Deity, without which 
there is neither the possibility of being 
nor the faculty of knowledge ? Infidelity 
has grown bold, and from the rejection 
of the Christian Church, and the verities 
of her creed, has come to the unblush- 
ing denial of the great First Cause, 
whose attributes are essential to the 
existence of all dependent being. Is 
there any light but that of the Divinity 
which can illumine eyes so darkened by 
the mists of pride and the worship of 
self? 

Then the materialism of our age, which 
measures all things by sense, depresses 
the instincts of the spiritual life and 
draws away the heart from the super- 



18 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. i 

natural world wlierein we truly live, and 
for which, we were created. There can be 
no greater degradation than the denial 
of man's spirituality and immortality. 
Such denial makes him like the beasts 
of the field, the creature of his animal 
passions, without any future. To such 
degradation tends the force of the en- 
lightenment of our day. In the eyes of 
modern philosophers self-denial is folly, 
and the communion of saints a silly 
dream. Desires for holiness and thirst 
after God are to them only the unreal 
sentiment of enfeebled minds and femi- 
nine hearts. The mysteries of the cross, 
and the mortifications of confessors, mar- 
tyrs, and virgins, are the ravings of men 
who have lost their manhood in the im- 
agination of a world unseen and un- 
known. What shall break the spell of 
worldliness, turn to bitterness the cup of 
pleasure, and open the eyes of the wil- 
fully blind? We need to cry mightily 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 19 

to the Spirit whose creating energy once 
brooded upon the disorder of chaos : 

" Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come 
From Thy bright heavenly throne ; 
Come, take possession of our souls, 
And make them all Thine own. 

" Heal our wounds, our strength renew, 
On our dryness pour Thy dew ; 
Wash the stains of guilt away." 

Then at His coming the earth shall be 
moved, and when the darkness of sin 
flies away, the glories of the new birth 
shall be seen, and the beauties of the 
spiritual life shall attract and win the 
heart. The graces of faith and hope 
and love shall conquer, and saints be 
raised again to glorify the power and 
sweetness of the Creator. He that is 
great and wonderful in the visible world, 
is far more wonderful and mighty in 
the realm of faith, where human spirits 
commune with the divine Spirit and par- 
take of His life. 



20 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

Such fruits, if it please the gracious 
Author of all good, may be reaped from 
this " Confraternity of the Servants of the 
Holy Ghost." In answer to our earnest 
prayers the flame of new piety shall be 
enkindled in many hearts. Souls shall 
be converted to God from the way of 
sin and sorrow, and many from the 
paths of error and unbelief turned to 
the true and unchangeable faith in the 
church where the divine Spirit dwells in 
all the fulness of grace and truth. There 
shall be sanctification for the just, life 
for the dying, and spiritual resurrection 
for the dead. In this hope we labor, 
and to this blessed end we invoke the 
special interposition of the almighty 
Spirit, whose gracious ears are ever open 
to the cries of the needy and sincere. 

The object of this short series of dis- 
courses is, then, to set in plain view the 
fundamental truths of our religion con- 



THE DIVI1STE PARACLETE. 21 

cerning the Holy Ghost and His opera- 
tions in our redemption ; and to draw 
from thence the necessity of a true love 
and ardent devotion towards Him. 

The first discourse concerns His per- 
son and office ; the second regards the 
visible church, which is His temple and 
the sphere of His action upon earth ; 
the third recounts the consequences of 
His dwelling in the church ; and the 
fourth attempts to portray the fruits 
of His sanctification in the individual 
believer. 

The sermon of to-night will serve as 
a foundation of the whole series, and 
to the theological statements contained 
in it we therefore call your earnest at- 
tention. 

We propose to answer these two ques- 
tions : " Who is the Holy Ghost?" and 
u What is His peculiar office?" There 
is hardly need to say that here, while 
we approach the very essence of God 



22 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



and speak of the nature of His being, 
we must do so with that reverence 
which becomes the creature in the pre- 
sence of his Creator, and that fear which 
the nearness of God should ever excite 
in just minds. If God, in His goodness, 
had not been pleased to reveal Himself 
and to tell us of His being, we should 
have sought to know it in vain. It is 
not in the capacity of the finite to scan 
or comprehend the Infinite. For all we 
know of our Creator we depend upon 
His condescension, and if He did not 
dwell in clouds of mystery before our 
created intellects He would not be God. 
The Infinite only can comprehend Him- 
self. 

I. 

WHO IS THE HOLY GHOST ? 

1. He is a divine Person. He pos- 
sesses all the attributes of personality, 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 23 

and being God, equal to the Father and 
the Son, He is a divine Person. 

In created intelligences we define per- 
sonality to signify "an individual sub- 
stance possessed of a rational nature." 
In applying this term to God we do 
not speak of three separate and indi- 
vidual substances. Our language is too 
imperfect to express exactly the nature 
and attributes of the divine Being. In 
God nature, existence, and essence are 
one, since He Himself is His own es- 
sence, existence, and eternity. Persons, 
among created intelligences, have a dis- 
tinct subsistence, but also a distinct 
and separate entity, which by its own 
limitation can make but one individual. 
In God, however, the divine Persons 
have only a distinct mode of subsis- 
tence, since they possess each, and in 
common the whole divine essence. 
Hence we say that there are three per- 
sons in God, not three individuals; 



24 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

since the term individual signifies a dis- 
tinct nature, which is impossible to the 
divine hypostases, in whom there is one 
essence and nature, and therefore one 
natural or essential mind, will, and 
operation. Nothing can be added to 
the clearness of the words of the Atha- 
nasian creed: " Such as the Father is, 
such is the Son and such is the Holy 
Ghost." The three Persons are uncre- 
ated, immense, eternal, and almighty. 
Yet they are not three eternals, three 
almighties, three uncreated, nor three 
immense. There is only one eternal, al- 
mighty, immense, and uncreated God. 
"The Father is God, the Son is God, 
and the Holy Ghost is God. Yet they 
are not three Gods, but one God." The 
personality of the Holy Ghost is con- 
tained in this : that He is not the 
Father nor the Son, although one with 
them in essence. Thus our Lord says: 
"When the Paraclete cometh, whom I 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 25 

will send you from the Father, the 
Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from 
the Father, He shall give testimony of 
me." * Here are mentioned three dis- 
tinct persons, the Father, the Son, and 
the Paraclete. The Father is one per- 
son. The Son is another, and of the 
same nature with the Father, because 
His Son. The Paraclete is another per- 
son, who proceedeth from the Father, 
and who is to give testimony of the 
Son. He could not give such testimony 
if He were not a distinct person. 

The divinity of the Holy Spirit is evi- 
dent from the nature of His personality 
in the eternal Trinity. He is proceed- 
ing from the Father and the Son as one 
principle, and so has His distinct mode 
of subsistence, while He possesses the 
whole of the divine essence. In the 
Sacred Scriptures the name, properties, 
and operations of God are attributed to 

* St. John xv, 26. 



28 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

Him. He bears the incommunicable 
name of God in the same manner as 
the Father and the Son. Omnipresence, 
omniscience, and omnipotence are attri- 
buted to Him. 

"The Spirit of the Lord hath fill- 
ed the whole world." * "The Spirit 
searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
things of God. The things that are of 
God, no one knoweth but the Spirit 
of God."f "By the Word of the Lord 
the heavens were established, and all 
the power of them by the Spirit of His 
mouth." X 

Thus it is the Holy Ghost who 
creates, renews the face of the earth, 
works the miracles of grace, and will, 
by His power, raise the bodies of the 
dead. "Thou shalt send forth thy 
Spirit, and they shall be created ; and 
Thou shalt renew the face of the 



* Wisdom i. 7. 1 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. 

X Psalm xxxii. 6. * 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 27 



earth." * "Ye are the temple of 
God, for the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
you." f u If the Spirit of Him, that 
raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell 
in you ; He that raised up Jesus Christ 
from the dead, shall quicken also your 
mortal bodies, because of His Spirit 
that dwelleth in you. 5 ':}: So the words 
of the text clearly sum up the whole 
doctrine : " There are three who give 
testimony in heaven, the Father, the 
Word, and the Holy Spirit." If, there- 
fore, there are three witnesses, they are 
distinguished from each other. "I am 
one," says our Lord, "that give tes- 
timony of myself ; and the Father that 
sent me, giveth testimony of me." § 
"The Spirit of truth shall not speak 
of Himself. He shall glorify me, be- 
cause He shall receive of mine, and 
shall show it unto yon." J 



* Psalm ciii. 30. t 1 Cor. iii. 16. J Rom. viii. 11. 

§ St. John viii. 18. 8 St. John xvi. 13, 14. 



28 THE DIVHSTE PAKACLETE. 

The Word, therefore, and the Holy 
Spirit, who concur with the Father in 
giving testimony, are not two energies 
or attributes of the Father. They must 
be distinct persons, else there would not 
be three witnesses. They cannot be 
distinct in essence, else there would be 
three Gods, which is impossible. They 
are therefore distinct in personality, h& 
we have already seen. But " these 
three distinct persons are one" The 
unity of essence in the divine Persons 
is manifest. It is a necessity of God's 
being, which can suffer neither change 
nor division. The very notion of such 
change would destroy the fundamental 
idea of deity. If there were not one 
and the same essence in the Word and 
Holy Spirit as in the Father, they 
would be at an infinite distance from 
the Father, and could not be one with 
Him. "I and my Father are one"* 



* St. John x. 30. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 29 

says our Lord to the Jews, who stoned 
Him for the assertion of His divinity. 
And to Philip, His disciple, He thus 
speaks : " So long a time have I been 
with you, and have you not known 
me ? He that seeth me, seeth the Fa- 
ther also." * "In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word w^as with 
God, and the Word was God." f As 
the Word was God by unity of essence 
with the Father, so also, from all eter- 
nity the Holy Ghost is God. Thus the 
divine Three who bear testimony in 
heaven are one. 

The Holy Ghost is in all things equal 
to the Father and the Son, from whom 
He eternally proceeds, and with whom 
He is consubstantial. "In this Trinity 
nothing is prior or posterior, nothing 
is greater or less ; but the whole three 
Persons are co-eternal to one another 
and co-equal." % 

* St. John xiv. 9. t St. John i. 1. % Creed of St. Athanasius. 



30 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

In speaking of the nature of God's 
being we necessarily transcend the 
powers of reason, but we in no sense 
contradict reason, which in its finite 
sphere can predicate" nothing of the In- 
finite. While there might be contra- 
diction in the idea of three human per- 
sons in one human being, there cannot 
be the slightest in the mystery of the 
Trinity which reveals to us the mode of 
God's existence. To attempt to see con- 
tradiction here would be to reason from 
things made and imperfectly compre- 
hended to the uncreated and incompre- 
hensible. Here the one office of right 
reason is to hear, believe, and adore. 

2. There is still another truth to be 
presented before we finish our brief ex- 
position of the Christian doctrine con- 
cerning the divine Spirit. He is called 
the third Person of the eternal Trinity, 
because they are three who bear testi- 
mony in heaven, and they are as distinct 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 31 

in person as they are one in essence. 
The terms first, second, and third are 
only to mark such distinction. It is ma- 
nifest that there can be no first in any 
dignity of nature or power. In the unity 
of the Trinity there is, however, a mar- 
vellous order expressed as clearly as our 
poor language will admit, and revealed 
to us as far as our finite intellects may 
bear it. "The Father is made of none, 
neither created nor begotten. The Son is 
from the Father alone, not made nor cre- 
ated, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is 
from the Father and the Son, not made, 
nor created, nor begotten, but proceed- 
ing." * The Father from all eternity 
communicates the divine essence to the 
Son, and this communication we call gen- 
eration, by which there is a true filial 
relation between the Father and the Son. 
Thus the Second Person is eternally be- 
gotten, and is of necessity consubstantial 

* Creed of St. Athanasius. 



32 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



with Him by whom He is begotten. The 
Father and the Son eternally communi- 
cate the divine essence to the Holy Spi- 
rit by a process which we call proces- 
sion. In this act they are one principle, 
and there is one spiration. The Father 
is the principle of the Son in the eternal 
act of generation. The Father and the 
Son are the principle of the Holy Ghost 
in the eternal act of spiration. We say 
principle intrinsic, since all is within 
the essence of Deity. We use not the 
word cause, since this term may imply 
an extrinsic agency, and the cause may 
also produce an effect which shall in 
nature be distinct from itself. Thus in 
the holy Trinity we admit two origins, 
generation and procession. From these 
flow the four relations which exist be- 
tween the divine Persons. Paternity 
truly belongs to the Father, because He 
begets His eternal and consubstantial 
Son. The filial relation of the Second 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 33 

Person responds to the paternity of the 
Father. And as the Father and Son 
together breathe forth the Spirit there 
are the relations of procession and spi- 
ration. These wonderful relations in 
God are true and real. 

We call, therefore, the Holy Ghost the 
Third Person of the undivided Trinity, 
because He eternally proceeds from the 
Father and the Son. This is the clear 
confession of our creed. Thus the Gen- 
eral Council of Florence defines "that 
the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from 
the Father and the Son as from one 
principle and by one spiration." In the 
Sacred Scriptures He is called the Spi- 
rit of Christ, as well as the Spirit of 
God ; and He is the Paraclete sent by 
the Son- to accomplish His work on earth. 
He glorifies the incarnate Word on earth, 
since He takes of that which is His and 
shows it unto us. He then proceeds 
from the Father and the Son as from 



34 THE DIYIXE PAEACLETE. 

a fountain and origin, and has all 
things common with them. 

Such is the mystery of the Trinity 
which declares the divine personality of 
the Holy Ghost. While there is perfect 
distinction, so that in regard of person- 
ality there is no confusion ; there is also 
the intimate existence of one Person in 
the other by reason of unity of essence. 
Thus, according to St. Fulgentius, u the 
Father is wholly in the Son and 
Holy Spirit ; the Son is wiiolly in the 
Father and Holy Spirit ; the Holy 
Spirit is wholly in the Father and the 
Son." To this end are the words of 
Christ, twice repeated: u l am in the 
Father, and the Father in me." * 
When the apostle is transported at 
the sight of the ways of God in the 
works of His hand he cries out in 
wonder: "O the depth of the riches of 
the wisdom and of the knowledge of 



* Sr. John xiv. 11. 



THE DIVIXE PARACLETE. 35 

God ! how incomprehensible are His 
judgments and how unsearchable His 
ways!" Much more will the Christian 
soul tremble and exult at the thought of 
the greatness of his Maker. Wonder- 
ful in His ways, how far beyond all the 
reach of finite intellect is He wondrous 
in Himself ! There from things cre- 
ated, from things conceivable, the mind 
ascends where clouds and darkness are 
the outskirts of the throne, where cheru- 
bim and seraphim veil their faces before 
the uncreated light, and all the universe, 
poised on the divine hand, bows down in 
adoration. Such is our God, a Trinity 
in unity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 
in their supreme rest and unspeakable 
bliss. 

II. 

THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIEIT. 

In our contemplation of God and the 
divine Persons we may reverently look 



36 THE DIVIJSTE PARACLETE. 

at the Deity within itself and at the 
Deity in its action outwards upon things 
created. 

1. Within the sacred Trinity each Per- 
son may have His office, as each has His 
place and relations. The Father, who is 
of none, and who is called by spiritual 
writers " the root and fountain of the 
whole Divinity," begets the eternal Son, 
and is to Him, in the truest sense of our 
inadequate language, a father. All that 
this relation involves belongs to Him 
with the full rights of paternity. He is, 
in the figures of prophecy, the " Ancient 
of days." He sits upon the throne, send- 
ing forth the streams of light and grace, 
and holding in His hands the scales of 
impartial justice, according to the law 
which is the expression of His will. 
What He is to the Son eternally be- 
gotten by Him, "the brightness of his 
glory and the figure of His substance," 
let no one but that Son presume to tell. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 37 

If paternity mean anything of strength, 
and care, and tenderness in our speech, 
in the divine tongue it must mean much 
more. 

The Son, from all eternity generated 
by the will of the Father, comes forth, 
with the fulness of the divine essence, 
to express the glory of Deity and the 
power of that Deity within itself. To 
paternity filiation responds, and the Son 
gives back the love that He receives in 
the might of a divine filial affection. 
G-od only can know Himself. God only 
can worthily love Himself. Here all 
that sonship signifies is real in the im- 
mensity of Deity. Its loyalty, its con- 
secration, its expression of likeness are 
all here, and all heightened to infinity ; 
because the Son begotten is equal to the 
Father, and the eternal generation pre- 
sents a coequal and consubstantial Son. 
He is not only the likeness of His Fa- 
ther ; He is in all things equal to Him, 



38 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

having His whole substance and the 
whole indivisible divine essence. Oh ! 
what joy is here in the unapproach- 
able felicity of the Trinity : the Father 
contemplating the Son ; the Son contem- 
plating the Father ; God loving Him- 
self ! Perhaps it may be part of the 
beatitude of saints to know something of 
this joy, and to be filled with some faint 
impulses of this gladness, when they 
see God as He is, and are borne into 
the sphere of the attractions of His being. 

The spiration of the Holy Ghost is the 
last of the divine processions. Here, as 
some of the Fathers reverently say, the 
Father and the Son, as one principle, by 
an act of supreme love breathe forth the 
co-eternal Spirit. It is the act of their 
mutual love, and the Spirit of Father 
and Son proceeds from both, the pledge 
of their mutual affection and the expres- 
sion of beatitude. This completes, if we 
may so speak, the circle of the divine 



THE DIVIXE PARACLETE. 



39 



productiveness, and the Spirit, being one 
in substance and equal in power and 
glory, is, in the words of St. Bernard, 
"the sacred kiss of the Father and the 
Son, as their imperturbable peace, their 
firm co-inherence, their undivided love, 
their indivisible unity." "The Holy 
Ghost proceeds from both and embraces 
both, as the indissoluble bond of cha- 
rity, the sweetest kiss of peace, the most 
blessed embrace of mutual love." Thus 
in the Trinity " there are two origins, 
the first by the way of knowledge and 
the other by the way of love. By the 
first is a Son co-eternal with His Father, 
who comes forth from the bosom of the 
Father, but leaves it not ; who receives 
all from Him, but is not dependent on 
Him. By the second is the Holy Ghost 
produced like the Son, but not, like 
Him, begotten. The Son proceeds from 
the Father as the ray from the sun; the 
Holy Ghost from the Father and the 



40 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

Son as heat from the ray and the sun ; 
the Son as the word, the Holy Ghost as 
the breath ; the Son as the river from the 
fountain, the Holy Ghost as the light- 
ning from the cloud. These expressions 
are all good, but all defective. The ray 
wants equality, the heat substance ; the 
word wants reality, the breath solidity, 
the river stability, the lightning dura- 
tion and life. But here the ray is eqn; 1 
to the sun; the heat consubstantial with 
its principle ; the word says all, and is 
all that it says ; the breath goes forth 
unceasingly, and never breathes its last; 
the river flows continually, and abides 
ever in its source ; the fire of heaven 
burns always, and never burns away."* 
If the divine Spirit may be called the 
expression of the eternal mutual love of 
the Father and the Son, what must be 
the transport of His being when, in re- 
sponse to the spiration of that love, He 

* Nonet, Meditations. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 41 

gives back the affection by which He 
proceeds! Who can venture to speak of 
that love which in its immense tide in- 
undates the bosom of the Trinity ? Yet 
may we reverently think of that un- 
speakable bliss where we behold our 
God in the boundless reach of His attri- 
butes, a unity and yet a Trinity ; alone 
and yet not alone ; in solitude and yet 
in glad communion with Himself; one in 
essence, and so alone in His immeasur- 
able distance from things created ; three 
in person, and so not alone in that inner 
life where Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 
embrace each other, and know each other, 
and are lost in felicity at this knowledge 
of the Divine perfections. Here is all 
knowledge, all speech, and all love. Here 
are the Unbegotten, the begotten Word, 
the prolific Spirit. Love divine gushes 
in its eternal fountain, and the light of 
Deity burns everlastingly in its source. 
So, following the steps of the Fathers, 



42 THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 

we may think of the Holy Spirit as 
the active and passive affection of the 
Godhead, the spring of peace, the tran- 
quillity of order, the harmony of the 
Infinite in the grandeur of His being. 
Oh ! how it adds to our adoring won- 
der of the Divinity thus to contem- 
plate the eternal Three in the distinct- 
ness of personality and the perfec- 
tion of unity. Thus they give testi- 
mony in heaven, each in His place, and 
where the " Sanctus" of angels resounds, 
God, in three persons, knows, enjoys, 
and glorifies Himself. There the Word 
speaks the language which Divine 
ears alone can hear ; there the Spirit 
" searches out the deep things of God." 

2. The office of the Holy Ghost in and 
towards created things is called His 
work outwards, though, strictly speak- 
ing, there is nothing without the Trinity. 

There was an eternity when there was 
nothing but God ; and Father, Son, and 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 43 

Holy Ghost were alone in their supreme 
and unapproachable rest. When it pleas- 
ed the infinite will to create ; things 
possible became existences, and in the 
order and sphere eternally appointed. 
Light dawned upon material worlds. 
The spheres rolled in their orbits, and 
the beauty of the visible creation bloom- 
ed beneath the divine touch. The voice 
of things made broke the silence of eter- 
nity, and the morning stars sang in joy- 
ful chorus. Angels assembled around 
the throne, and cherubim and seraphim 
knelt in mute adoration before the con- 
suming fire. So towards creatures the 
Holy Spirit hath a special office, and, in 
harmony with His work within the bo- 
som of Deity, He comes forth to com- 
plete, beautify and sanctify the whole 
creation. u Thou shalt send forth Thy 
Spirit, and they shall be created ; and 
Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. "* 



* Psalms ciii. 30. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 



"In the beginning God created heaven 
and earth : and the earth was void and 
empty, and darkness was upon the face 
of the deep ; and the Spirit of God 
moved over the waters/' * When God 
spoke, the Word went forth, and " all 
things were made by Him." f Yet it 
was the office of the Spirit to brood 
upon the shapeless mass of chaos, that 
from His fecundating energy, order and 
beauty might come forth. When, in 
the new earth created for our use, the 
race of man was to take its place, 
the Three Persons communed together. 
"Let us make man to our image and 
likeness." J Then was man made with 
the royal mark upon him, with an intel- 
ligent soul, with memory, will, and un- 
derstanding, in the image of the eternal 
Three who formed him. Upon our first 
father, Adam, the Holy Ghost descend- 
ed, and so was 14 he made into a living 

* Genesis i. 1.2. t St. John i. 3. t Genesis i. 26. 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 



45 



soul." * Reason ruled within him, and, 
by the power of the sanctifying Spirit, 
there was harmony between soul and 
body. There was peace, which is " the 
tranquillity of order," and no war was 
known between the rational and irra- 
tional natures. We attribute to the 
Third Person of the Trinity the special 
office in creation of establishing order, 
of harmonizing elements that might be 
in conflict, of causing life and beauty to 
bloom where, without His celestial touch, 
all would be dead and shapeless. He 
is the uncreated beauty shining in the 
things He touches ; the divine order 
leading created intelligences up to the 
living Unity, wnich is God. He is "the 
living spring, the living fire, sweet unc- 
tion and true love." 

So, gazing over the face of the mate- 
rial universe, where there are wonders 
far above our comprehension and beau- 

* 1 Cor. xv. 45. 



46 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



ties above our capacity of appreciation, 
we see everywhere "the finger of God's 
right hand." In every ray that illu- 
mines the earth ; in the glory of the 
forests ; in the grandeur of the moun- 
tains ; in the order of the firmament 
with its myriad spheres ; in the flowers 
that exhale their sweet odor ; in the 
human face and form, that speak of a 
world unknown ; in all we behold the 
finishing touch of the eternal Spirit pro- 
ceeding from the Father and the Son ; 
in creatures, as in the bosom of Deity, 
showing forth the beauty of God, and 
telling, as human ears may be able to 
hear, of His perfections. "Day unto 
day uttereth speech, and night unto 
night showeth knowledge." * 

The Holy Trinity hath another work, 
undertaken of His free mercy and to 
show the riches of His grace. When 
our race fell from God by the prevarica- 

* Psalm xviii. 3. 



THE DIVIKE PARACLETE. 47 

tion of its will, and in our father, Adam, 
lost Eden and the graces of paradise, 
the same power which magnified itself in 
creation glorified itself more mightily in 
redemption. " God so loved the world 
as to give His only -begotten Son." * 
The Second Person took upon Himself 
the work of expiation and redemption. 
To this end He became man and made 
Himself the second Adam, that through 
a divine humanity He might pay our 
debt and heal the wounds of sin, which 
had corrupted and enfeebled our nature. 
In this work the Three Persons of the 
Trinity co operate, and here the Holy 
Ghost has His peculiar office. 

Directly does He concur to the incar- 
nation of God the Word. By His power 
the immaculate Virgin conceived. "The 
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee," said 
the archangel Gabriel to her, "and the 
power of the Most High shall oversha- 

* St. John iii. 16. 



48 



THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 



dow tliee; therefore tlie Holy which 
shall be born of thee shall be called the 
Son of God."* The Word was, then, 
" conceived by the Holy Ghost and 
born of the Virgin Mary." By His 
touch her pure substance was formed 
into the spotless body of Jesus Christ ; 
and by His breath the soul of God In- 
carnate was created. Upon that human- 
ity, the greatest and most beautiful work 
of God, the energies of the divine Spirit, 
with all His gifts, were put forth. His 
all-perfecting fingers were ever upon 
that humanity to fashion and mould its 
features, as the Man-God "grew in wis- 
dom and age, and grace with God and 
men." f Through all the steps of His 
earthly work the Redeemer w^as "led 
by the Spirit" from height to height of 
oblation. The Paraclete watched witli 
protecting wings over the humanity con- 
ceived by His energy. He filled the 

* St. Luke i. 35. t St. Luke ii. 52. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 49 



womb of St. Elizabeth and caused the 
unborn forerunner to exult with joy. 
"John gave testimony, saying, I saw 
the Spirit coming down as a dove from 
heaven, and He remained upon Him." * 

So at the baptism in Jordan " heaven 
was opened, and the Holy Ghost de- 
scended in a bodily shape as a dove 
upon Him." f " Evidently great," says 
the apostle, " is the mystery of godli- 
ness, which was manifested in the flesh 
and justified in the Spirit." J This 
work of the Spirit in and over the hu- 
manity of Christ was carried on through 
all the bitterness of the Passion, in the 
sharpness of death, until the resurrection 
dawned in a new light, and the Man- 
Grod was " taken up into glory." 

And when the Word made flesh had 
finished His earthly work, had paid the 
penalty due to our sins, and had as- 
cended on high, it was the office of the 

* St. John i. 32. t St. Luke iii. 22. % 1 St. Timotby iii. 16. 



50 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 



Spirit to carry on and complete that 
work. "It is expedient for you that I 
go," said our Lord to His sorrowing dis- 
ciples : "for if I go not, the Paraclete 
will not come to you : but if I go, I will 
send Him to you." "He, the Spirit of 
truth, shall teach you all things. He 
shall glorify me, because He shall receive 
of mine, and shall show it to you." * 
"When He cometh, He shall give testi- 
mony of me," and "you shall receive the 
power of the Holy Ghost coming upon 
you." f "I will ask the Father, and He 
shall give you another Paraclete, who 
will never leave you, who will abide 
with you for ever." "He will teach you 
all things, and bring all things to your 
mind, whatsoever I shall have said to 
you." X So in the quickening energy 
of His nature, and the love of which He 
is the expression, the Paraclete takes 
up the work of the ascended Christ, 

* St. John xvi. 7, 13, 14. t Acts i. 8. $ St. John xiv. 16, 26. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 51 

brings all His teaching into fruitful light, 
and by His mighty operations applies 
the precious Blood of Calvary, and com- 
pletes the redemption. " Jesus Christ 
came by water and blood, not by water 
only, but by water and blood. And it 
is the Spirit who testilieth that Christ 
is the truth." * 

The same energy which fashioned the 
humanity of the second Adam, fashions 
also ours by the touch of "the quicken- 
ing Spirit." f "The Spirit Himself giv- 
eth testimony to our spirit, that we are 
the sons of God. And if sons, heirs 
also ; heirs indeed of God, and joint 
heirs with Christ. For whom He fore- 
knew, He also predestinated to be made 
conformable to the image of His Son." $ 

If the work of the Third Person of 
the holy Trinity was glorious in the 
first creation, much more wonderful is 
His operation in the new, where the 

* 1 St. John v. 6. 1 1 Cor. xv. 45. §Eom. viii. 16, 17, 29. 



52 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

world of grace opens before us with all 
its treasures. He unites us to tlie hu- 
manity of our Redeemer, and consoles 
us with the knowledge of all He did 
and taught. He is the Comforter under 
whose reign of mercy we live. He that 
rejects Him shall find no comfort. He 
who grieves Him away shall be eternally 
lost. "The blasphemy of the Spirit shall 
not be forgiven." "He that shall speak 
against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be 
forgiven him, neither in this world nor 
in the world to come."* 

Two important lessons are to be learn- 
ed from this brief view of the person 
and work of the divine Spirit. 

The more we know of the greatness 
of God in Himself, the more wonderful 
seems His condescension. What are we 
that the Three Persons of the Godhead 
should so occupy themselves with our 
salvation? The creature is low enough 

* St. Matt. xii. 31, 32. 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. bo 

by nature in comparison with his Cre- 
ator. What is he, then, before the eyes 
of the infinite Majesty, when by sin he 
has degraded his nature and made it 
impure; when the gifts of Providence 
have been trailed in the mire of cor- 
ruption? If the unfallen angels are not 
clean in the sight of the All-Holy, what 
is man, fallen and corrupted by trans- 
gression ? Yet upon him seems to stoop 
the whole mercy of the Creator. Passing 
by fallen angels for whom no redemption 
was offered, the outer life of the eternal 
Three seems to be spent upon our re- 
covery. The Father plans in His great 
heart the scheme of salvation ; the Son 
comes joyfully to the Yirgin's womb and 
the cross ; and the Holy Spirit refuses 
not to move with pitying love and un- 
wonted energy upon the waste, where a 
greater than primeval darkness rests 
upon the face of the deep. 
Let us value our souls by their price 



54 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

in the eyes of God, by the labors of the 
Three infinite Persons. What a loss will 
it be if we, made by the will of the 
Father, bought by the Blood of the Son, 
and sanctified by the power of the Holy 
Ghost, fail to realize our dignity, and 
fall eternally from the arms of the 
Trinity into the rayless darkness where 
the light of grace can never be rekin- 
dled ! The divine Mind alone can esti- 
mate our value and measure our ruin. 

And, lastly, while we rejoice in the 
presence and comfort of the Paraclete, 
and know that He is our all-abiding 
strength, how should we fear before 
Him and tremble lest we grieve Him ! 
He is a consuming fire, to burn away 
our dross and to lighten our darkness 
with the searching beams of divinity. 
He is ours in thought and will, in word 
and deed, according to our wish. As 
much as we ask He will give, and even 
beyond all our hopes he will respond 



THE DIVIDE PAKACLETE. 55 

to our desires. We can drink of purity 
itself ; bathe at our will in the precious 
Blood of Christ ; and even before the 
days of exile are ended taste of the 
fruit of the tree of life. Yet do we re- 
alize that it is God who is within us, that 
we are His temples, that it is He who 
speaks to us in times of trial, sorrow, 
or joy ? How happy are we to bear our 
Paraclete within us, and how sacred is 
the heart where He dwells ! Lifted up 
above the storms of earth, far from its 
confusing strife, is the home where the 
Spirit of the Father and the Son abides ! 
This is the Love of the Holy Trinity, 
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth 
in God, and God dwelleth in Him. We 
cannot dwell in love unless our souls, 
in will and affection, are one with God, 
for God is one. Let us cry earnestly 
to the quickening Spirit by whose life 
we live. He will help us to realize our 
consecration to the Father, Son, and 



56 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

Holy Ghost. He will enlighten our un- 
derstanding, chase away sin and sorrow 
from our memory, and give supernal 
vigor to our will. By God we shall take 
hold of God, and by divine power as- 
cend where our weakness shall be 
made strength. On the wings of the 
Spirit we are borne to the bosom of 
the Son, and in His human arms we are 
presented to the Father. God bears us 
to God. u The Spirit helpeth our in- 
firmity ; for we know not what we should 
pray for as we ought : but the Spirit 
Himself asketh for us with unspeakable 
groanings. And He that searcheth the 
hearts knoweth what the Spirit desireth, 
because He asketh for the saints accord- 
ing to God. And we know that to them 
that love God, all things work together 
unto good, to such as according to His 
purpose are called to be saints." * 



* Rom. viii. 26-28. 



Sermon II. 



THE VISIBLE CHURCH, THE EARTHLY TEMPLE OF 
THE HOLY GHOST 



" Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One 
body and one Spirit : as you are called in one hope of your calling. 
One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who 
is above all, and through all, and in us aU."— Ephesians iv. 3-6. 

Order v is the necessary mark of all 
the works of God. To this order unity 
is essential. In things created this unity 
appears, as far as is possible to finite 
existences. There cannot be the su- 
preme oneness of God, but there is the 
unity of design, of end and operation. 
We cannot conceive of the divine Be- 
ing working in confusion, which would 
be disorder and seeming contradiction. 
In things inanimate there is perfect har- 

57 



58 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

mony throughout the whole realm of cre- 
ation. If there be disorder among intelli- 
gent beings it is owing to the perversity 
of their wills, which have the power to 
resist the plan of God and rebel against 
Him. The Deity has no share in this 
work of disunion from Himself. The 
separation from unity is essential dis- 
order. 

H, then, order and unity mark the 
works of the first creation, when from 
nothing the universe sprang into being ; 
much more, and in a truer sense, shall 
be seen these signs of the divine action 
in the new creation, which is a work of 
a higher nature and in a plane nearer 
to the Deity itself. There is no need to 
develop here the argument which from 
the unity of the visible creation demon- 
strates the unity of the great First Cause. 
We pass to the necessary conclusion 
that the essential attributes of the Deity 
must be more manifest in the redemp- 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 59 

tion. By sin the intelligent race of man 
fell from order, and by the interposition 
of God, who is one, they must by unity 
be restored to unity. Thus human err- 
ing wills may be brought back to har- 
mony with the one all-perfect will of the 
Creator. If God is to work a salvation 
for the children of Adam, He must act 
in accordance with His nature. The sub- 
ject of this lecture concerns, then, the 
sphere of the divine operation in re- 
demption, and consequently the work 
of the Holy Ghost upon earth. That 
work is in a visible body, of which the 
eternal Spirit becomes the living princi- 
ple, and through which He operates to 
the sane tificat ion of men. Such is the 
plan of infinite wisdom, in perfect har- 
mony with the needs of our race and 
with the nature of God. Indeed, so far 
as we are able to see, we can conceive 
of no other plan which would restore 
order in the intelligent creation, and of 



60 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

many wandering and jarring wills make 
a unity in one God, acceptable to Him 
because really in Him. 

Our subject will become more clear by 
considering the following propositions in 
their order and connection : 

I. From our knowledge of God and 
our own needs, reason demands a visible 
body of the redeemed, in which the new 
creation shall be wrought. 

II. Our Lord Himself established a visi- 
ble church, which is a unity, by its con- 
stitution and, indeed, by necessity. 

III. Into this visible body the Holy 
Spirit entered, thus taking possession of 
it and giving it a divine character. 

IV. He is the principle of its life, and 
therefore of its unity, since disunion 
contradicts life, and is death. 

V. The sphere of sanctifying grace is 
in the church, which is the temple of 
the Holy Ghost. 

Depending upon the divine Spirit for 



THE DIVHSTE PAEACLETE. 61 

our knowledge of the way of salvation, 
and of the dispensation of which He is 
the ruler, let us at this time humble 
ourselves before Him, and ask for light 
to see, and grace to appreciate the beau- 
ties of the new creation as they unfold 
themselves to true and obedient hearts. 

I. 

From our knowledge of God and our- 
selves reason demands a visible body, in 
which, with visible signs, the wonders of 
redemption shall be wrought. 

1. The race of man is a visible race, 
and must be treated as such in all the 
operations of God. We are not pure 
spirits, and can never be considered as 
purely spiritual. Our bodies, which are 
material and visible, are an integral part 
of our nature. They are concerned in 
our sin, and they must in like manner 
be concerned in our redemption. The 



62 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

operations of the soul are in and 
through the senses, which are the means 
of our communication with the external 
world. 

The human race fell in Adam, its fa- 
ther, and visibly was exiled from Eden, 
and in its corporate life passed into the 
shadow of death away from God. " By 
one man sin entered into the world, and 
by sin, death : and so death passed upon 
all men, in whom all have sinned." * 
The action of life among those dead in 
the transgression of one father must be 
in accordance with the nature of their 
death. As a visible race they died; as 
a visible race they must be raised from 
that death. "By the disobedience of 
one man, many were made sinners ; so 
also by the obedience of one many shall 
be made just" t The visibility of the 
redeemed corresponds to that of the 
fallen. The first Adam and his children 



*Rom. v. 12. 



t Rom. v. 20. 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 



63 



are fallen in the unity of race. The se- 
cond Adam, with His children, are the 
living race with the same unity, visibi- 
lity, and corporate life. 

2. If the redeemed were invisible to 
the eyes of men, there would be no 
redemption of the body, and therefore 
no redemption of man. Whatever may 
happen to the soul can never be made 
known to us except through the body. 
If the soul could be restored to God 
without any change passing upon the 
body, God alone would know it, and the 
man could not be saved. Such a re- 
demption is impossible, and for manifest 
reasons. 

On such a supposition the soul ad- 
dressed by grace will pass its trial and 
come to its reward. In the trial the 
body has its share. It can have none 
in the reward. Then the body must 
perish, as the soul redeemed cannot 
peacefully inform it in eternity. This 



64 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

contradicts the voice of reason, since it 
destroys in the future life the integrity 
of man. The soul is an immortal spirit. 
Man is essentially composed of a soul 
and a body. It contradicts also the 
plain words of revelation, which teaches 
us that the body shall rise in the latter 
day from the grave, and that "this mor- 
tal shall put on immortality." * 

In the body man has sinned, and in 
the body he ought to suffer. " Sin 
reigned in the mortal body of the sin- 
ner, who has yielded his members as in- 
struments of iniquity unto sin." f So 
"the hands and feet of the lost are to 
go into hell, into unquenchable fire." X 
In like manner they are to have part in 
the resurrection by reason of their share 
in redemption. "If the Spirit of Him 
who raised up Jesus from the dead 
dwell in you, He shall quicken your 
mortal bodies, because of His Spirit that 

* 1 Cor. xv. 53. t Rom. vi. 12, 13. % St. Mark ix. 42. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 65 

dwelleth in you." * " Know you not 
that your members are the temple of the 
Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you 
have from God, and you are not your 
own ? For you are bought with a price. 
Glorify and bear God in your body." f 
While this is the voice of revelation, it 
is also in accordance with reason, which 
can see neither justice nor consistency in 
a salvation which regards only the im- 
material and invisible part of man. Man 
would be at the same time destroyed by 
the theory of redemption which takes up 
the soul and leaves the body to perish. 
God could not so contradict Himself, 
writing His image in the creature made 
by the holy Tiinity to rule over the 
visible earth, and then abandoning, in 
the richer work of grace, the body, 
which is the symbol of superiority in 
the visible creation. 
Again, our Lord took a visible body 

* Eom. viii. 11. + 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. 



66 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

in all things like unto ours, sin only 
excepted. Thus is He, the second Adam, 
as visible as the first ; and hence, by 
necessary consequence, the bodies of 
the just are quickened with His life. 
Through the humanity He shows Him- 
self to us ; by the humanity He touches 
us. "The bread that I will give is my 
flesh for the life of the world. He that 
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, 
abide th in me, and I in Him." * 

The action of redemption upon the 
visible bodies of men requires logically 
external signs of grace ; and such exter- 
nal signs require an outward organiza- 
tion and a tangible, corporate existence 
of the redeemed. We cannot conceive 
of such exterior signs of grace without 
divine authority; and divine authority 
exacts order as its first essential. Such 
signs of spiritual life are sacraments 
conveying under visible forms an inward 

* St. John vi. 52, 57. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 67 

power. They demand, and by the just 
requirements of logic, one visible body 
on earth as the sacrament and sign of 
unity with God, the invisible Worker, 
And, to demonstrate that our reasoning 
is just, as a matter of fact, where such 
a visible organization is denied, sacra- 
ments are soon rejected ; and where 
sacraments are rejected the redemption 
of the body is contradicted. And soon, 
by the necessity of the argument, men 
scoff at a visible Redeemer and fall in- 
to blank materialism. There is nothing 
more unreasonable than materialism ; but 
to it inevitably come the deniers of re- 
velation ; and this denial of truth reveal- 
ed is the legitimate consequence of the 
rejection of any of its essential verities. 
Through the visible church God meets 
us in redemption. Here He touches us, 
and here all is in harmony. Deny the 
church, and the chain is broken which 
binds man to his Maker. In sin and 



68 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

blindness, lie cannot stand alone. He 
falls not only from the pinnacle of 
grace, but even from the height of na- 
tural reason. "The fool hath said in 
his heart : There is no God.' ' * 

II. 

A visible church was established by 
our Lord, and it is a unity by constitu- 
tion and by necessity. 

What our intelligence asks as a just 
manifestation of divine mercy towards 
our fallen race, God has supplied be- 
yond all our desires. 

1. It is a matter of fact that our 
Lord Jesus Christ came upon earth 
and proved His divine mission by abun- 
dant miracles. It is also a fact that He 
founded and organized a church of vi- 
sible men with all the necessary pro- 
visions for its perpetuity. He called to 

* Psalm xiii. 1. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 69 

Himself disciples, whom He taught ; and 
of them He chose twelve, whom he nam- 
ed apostles.* The apostles were sent 
with divine authority to teach the 
world. " As My Father hath sent me, 
even so do I send you." f 

The Jewish Church was confessedly 
founded by God as a preparation for 
the Christian organization. It was a 
visible body, with power to represent the 
majesty of the divine Lawgiver on earth. 
So the church established by Christ is 
an external organization, but endowed 
with higher life and greater gifts. The 
Acts of the Apostles are a plain nar- 
rative of the growth of this church in 
different lands. We are not asked to 
prove a fact universally received, and 
one which has everywhere left inefface- 
able marks upon society. It is incon- 
testable that Jesus Christ founded a 
church to bear His name and minister 

* St. Luke vi. 12, 13. t St John xx. 21. 



70 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

His grace. That this church is visible, 
and must be so, is evident from the fact 
that it is composed of visible men and 
bears a mission to a visible world. An 
invisible church can only be for invi- 
sible men, with whom we have not now 
to do. 

2. The church established by our 
Lord is a unity by constitution and by 

necessity. 

One founder made it one. It is one 
in organization, with one head. The 
apostles were subordinated to one as a 
type and centre of unity. "Simcn, son 
of John, feed my lambs, feed my 
sheep." * "Thou art Peter, and on this 
rock will I build my church." f The 
body which has one head is necessarily 
one, since a body with many heads 
would be a monstrous contradiction. So 
argues St. Paul: "There is one body 
and one Spirit : as you are called in one 



* St. John xxi. 15, 17. 



+ St. Matt. xvi. 18. 



THE DIVIKE PARACLETE. 71 

hope of your calling. One Lord, one 
faith, one baptism, one God and Father 
of all, who is above all, and through all, 
and in us all." The unity of God is 
perfect. But the apostle tells us that 
the unity of the church is of the same 
nature. There can no more be two 
bodies than there can be two Gods. 
There cannot be two creeds, nor two 
baptisms, nor two Holy Spirits. Neither 
can there be two churches of Christ. So 
says St. Cyprian: " There is one God 
and one Christ, and His church is one, 
and the faith one, and the people one, 
joined into the solid unity of one 
body. Unity cannot be sundered, nor 
the one body be separated by the disso- 
lution of its structure." * 

The church established by .our Lord 
is not only one by constitution as He 
was pleased to form it ; but it is one by 
necessity, and He could have formed it 

* St. Cyprian, Be Unitate, 



72 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

in no other way. Unity is an essential 
of any organization, and without it 
there is not a semblance of order. If 
the divine founder of the church did 
not make it one, how did He make it? 
He could not make it two or three, for 
this is a contradiction in terms. It is, 
in fact, making one two ; and God can- 
not do this, since He cannot contradict 
Himself. He could have made three or 
a thousand different societies, but they 
would have borne different characteris- 
tics, and would have been constituted 
for different ends. A church, in the true 
meaning of the term, is a body of visi- 
ble men authorized to represent Christ 
upon earth and to teach His Gospel. 
There can be but one such church, as 
there cannot be more than one God. So 
the unity of the church is a necessity 
in the plans of redemption. Disunion 
destroys, misleads, and ruins all. If 
that disunion were the work of God, 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 73 

which is impossible. He would be re- 
sponsible for it. He is essentially one, 
and all His operations bear the likeness 
of this unity, especially His greatest 
work after the Incarnation — "the church, 
which is His body and the fulness of 
Him, who is filled all in all. " * 

III. 

Of this visible body the Holy Ghost 
took possession, dwelling in it and giv- 
ing it a divine character. 

The mission of the Holy Ghost on 
earth is directly connected with the 
Christian Church. Our confession of 
faith in the Holy Ghost is immediately 
followed by that of belief in the Hoty 
Catholic Church. This, in the baptismal 
creed, implies the truth that we cannot 
rightly believe in the divine Spirit un- 
less we understand His operations in the 

*Ephes. i.23. 



74 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

visible body which He animates for the 
sanctification of its members and the 
world. The union between the church 
and the Holy Ghost is divine. From 
this union springs the supernatural cha- 
racter which is the life and glory of the 
Christian dispensation. 

The entry of the eternal Spirit into 
the Church took place on the day of Pen- 
tecost, in fulfilment of the promise of 
Christ. It was a triumphal entry, which 
moved the earth and brought a new life 
to the apostles. The external miracles 
which glorified this day, in the flames 
of fire, the rushing, mighty wind, and 
the gift of tongues, were the signs of a 
divine power which the world had not 
known before.. The church was formed 
by our Lord in all its essential frame- 
work, and stood ready to receive the su- 
pernal guest who was to quicken it 
and make it the dwelling of God. In 
this manner the Holy Spirit had never 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 75 

been in the world until this day. He 
had been one in the operations of the 
Father and the Son. He had blessed 
the different ages and dispensations with 
His influence. He had been the unseen 
author of every good thought and work. 
All, the race of man had known of sanc- 
tity, came from the effusion of His gifts. 
Now He comes, by a special and personal 
presence, to complete the work of the 
Incarnate Son. It was necessary for the 
Son in our nature to atone for our 
transgressions, and in that nature to as- 
cend to the throne on high, before the 
Holy Grhost could thus personally dwell 
on earth. The expiation of our sins was 
necessary, and the preparation of our 
fallen nature to be a fitting home for 
the quickening Spirit: "It is expedi- 
ent for you that I go : for if I go not, 
the Paraclete will not come to you ; but 
if I go, I will send Him to you." * 

* St. John xvi. 7- 



76 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



That the Holy Ghost came to the church 
on Pentecost in a different manner, and 
with a permanent end, is evident from 
the words of our Lord. He came to the 
church, to the visible body founded by 
Christ, and He came there to abide. 
He did not come to any not in union 
with this visible body ; and to partake 
of His presence it was necessary to be- 
come a member of this visible body 
by baptism, the divinely-established rite. 
4 4 They who received the word of St. 
Peter were baptized, that they might 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." * 
u For by one Spirit were we all baptized 
into one body." f Into this body He 
came to dwell by a personal, substantial, 
and permanent presence. To this end 
are the words of St. Gregory Nazianzen : 
".'Now the Holy Ghost is given more 
perfectly, for He is no longer present 
by His operation as of old, but He 

* Acts ii. 88, 41. t 1 Cor. xii. 13. 



THE DIVIXE PARACLETE. 77 

speaks and converses with us in a sub- 
stantial manner. For it was fitting that 
as the Son had conversed with us in a 
body, the Spirit also should come among 
us in a bodily manner/' * 

In virtue of this presence the mem- 
bers of the church are sanctified by a 
real union with the divine Spirit. This 
substantial union gives to each one the 
grace of the uncreated life, while the 
human personality remains intact. So 
says St. Cyril of Alexandria : 6 c The 
Holy Ghost works in us by Himself, 
truly sanctifying us and uniting us to 
Himself, while He joins us to Himself 
and makes us partakers of the divine 
nature." f Tlr's union between the 
Spirit and the members of the Church 
is dependent upon their union with the 
body which He permanently fills, From 
this body He never can depart, though 
individuals may fall away and lose His 

*Orat. xli. in Pentecost. i Ds Trinitate. 



78 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

presence by apostasy. Let us quote 
here the language of St. Augustine : 
"What the soul is to the body of a 
man, that the Holy Ghost is to the 
body of Christ, which is the church. 
What the Holy Ghost does in the 
whole church, that the soul does in all 
the members of the body. In the body 
of a man it may happen that a mem- 
ber, the hand, the finger, or the foot, 
may be cut off. Does the soul follow 
the severed member? While it was in 
the body it was alive ; cut it off, its life 
is lost. So a man is a Christian and a 
Catholic while he is alive in the body ; 
cut off, he becomes a heretic." * The 
words of Scripture are abundant to es- 
tablish this great fact of redemption. It 
is just as important to believe in the 
personal presence of the Holy Ghost in 
the visible church as it is to confess 
the incarnation and passion of the Se- 

* Sermo in die Pentecost. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 79 

cond Person of the Holy Trinity. "By 
our Lord we have access both in one 
Spirit to the Father. In whom we are 
built together into an habitation of God 
in the Spirit." * The union of the Holy 
Ghost with the church is so perfect 
that the Scriptures and the Fathers 
speak as if it had a personality. " The 
head and the body are one man ; Christ 
and the church are one man, a per- 
fect man : He the bridegroom, she the 
bride." f Such words could have no 
meaning, if the union of the visible 
body with the Spirit were not substan- 
tial and indissoluble. 

That body, therefore, in which the 
Holy Ghost dwells by a personal and 
abiding presence, is of necessity perma- 
nently and essentially sanctified. It loses 
its mere human character and becomes 
divine. It is an organization of visible 
men, and so far of human nature ; but 

* Ephes. ii. 18, 22. t St. Augustiue in Psalm xviii. 



80 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



by tlie union of the members with God 
dwelling in the body it partakes of the 
life of God. As the soul informs the 
body and gives it vitality, so the quick- 
ening Spirit vitalizes the church and 
fills it with His divine energy. 

This is a direct and logical conse- 
quence of the presence of the Holy 
Ghost. If He be in the church, then 
is she divine. If He be not in her, 
then all the words of revelation are an 
enigma and the Christianity of nine- 
teen centuries a fable. 

The body which the Spirit, proceeding 
from the Father and the Son, animates 
is in truth the temple of the holy 
Trinity. It is " built upon the founda- 
tion of the apostles and prophets, 
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief 
corner-stone ; in whom all the building, 
being framed together, groweth up into 
a holy temple in the Lord." * 

*Ephes. ii. 20, 21. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 81 



IV. 

The Holy Spirit- in the church, as He 
is the principle of her life, so is He the 
cause of her unity. 

The church of Christ, as it appears to 
us in the Scriptures and through the 
testimony of historical Christianity, can- 
not be conceived of without the indwell- 
ing of the Holy Grhost. He alone makes 
her all that she is, and is therefore the 
principle of her being. Without Him 
she would be like any other organization 
of mere men, liable to constant chang- 
es and having no promise of perpetuity. 
She is, indeed, an organization of men, 
but not of mere men. Her members are 
bound to each other and to G-od by the 
presence and power of the almighty 
Spirit. So no essential change can pass 
over her; no attack of man can pre- 
vail against her ; for, by the life of Grod 



82 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

within her, she is emancipated from the 
law of decay. She could no more per- 
ish than God could perish, for her life 
is bound up with His. For this reason, 
when we confess the Holy Ghost in 
our baptismal creed, we also confess 
the holy Catholic Church. We know 
nothing of the Holy Ghost except 
through the church, and without the 
living presence of the Spirit there is 
no church. The building erected by 
Jesus Christ for "an habitation of God 
through the Spirit" can be no merely 
human temple to pass away with the 
wrecks of time. 

But if the Spirit of God abides 
in the church, then is she necessarily 
one, and with the most rigid unity. 
He could not abide in two or many 
churches arrayed against each other. 
This were to array God against Him- 
self, and make Him the author of confu- 
sion and error. 



THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 83 

Moreover, where God is, there must 
be unity, since disunion is disorder di- 
rectly opposed to his attributes. Unity 
is life, and disunion is death. Where, 
then, the Spirit of life binds together 
the different members of an organiza- 
tion established by divine hands, there 
is of necessity the unity which flows 
from the fountain of all oneness. So 
the sacrificial prayer of the Mediator 
asks for His members, "that they may 
all be one, as Thou, Father, in me, 
and I in Thee, that they may also be 
one in us, that the world may believe 
that Thou hast sent me." * This 
unity is more than visible. It is 
indeed visible else the world could 
never know that the Father had sent 
the Son to produce it. The visible 
unity is the proof given to the nations 
of the presence of the Spirit. But that 
which is visible, and so a testimony to 

*St. John xvii. 21. 



84 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

the world, is only the outward sign of 
a still more wonderful unity of faith 
and hope and love. This internal one- 
ness is the work of the Holy Ghost, 
who alone maketh men to be of one 
mind and to confess everywhere the 
same faith. This unity, so impossible 
to all mere human societies, is the mani- 
fest proof of the divine power. Man 
strives to counterfeit it in vain. Yet 
God cannot be in man without subor- 
dinating his will and illuminating his 
intellect. The visible unity is the 
fruit of the attraction of the Holy 
Ghost drawing to one, and binding 
together in one, elements discordant. 
The moral unity is the work of that 
same Spirit revealing Himself to many 
eyes as one, and in many hearts show- 
ing forth the one truth as it is in Je- 
sus. Thus is there one Lord and one 
faith, as there is one Spirit and one 
body, even as we are called in one 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 85 

hope to a union with the one God and 
Father of all, who is in all, and through 
all, and above us all. 

Here again the denial of unity in 
the visible church leads to the rejec- 
tion of the one Spirit as He has been 
revealed to men. And the denial of 
the Holy Ghost is the most emphatic 
rejection of Christ our Lord, who can 
only be known through the Paraclete, 
whom He sends. 

V. 

The sphere of the operations of the 
Holy Ghost is, then, the visible church, 
which is His temple. 

If our divine Redeemer has founded 
a church to represent Him on earth, 
and administer to successive genera- 
tions His grace ; if the eternal Spirit 
has come upon earth to dwell in this 



86 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

clmrch with the fulness of a substan- 
tial union ; then it is manifest that in 
and through the church the souls of 
men are to be sanctified. Else His 
work would be to no purpose, and the 
miracles of redemption in vain. Christ 
could not have founded a church, if in 
His plan of mercy the church were 
not a necessity. The Holy Spirit could 
not have come in flaming glory to dwell 
in this church, unless it were to be 
the sacrament of union with Him, and 
the sphere of His sanctifying energies. 
Thus, the facts of the Grospel being ad- 
mitted, they who would drink of the 
Spirit of life must come to the foun- 
tains of salvation opened in the church. 
The Spirit fills the universe with His 
immensity, but He dwells with the 
gift of substantial union only in the 
body which is His temple. Let us 
see how the Holy Scripture speaks of 
this great and momentous truth, and 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 



87 



how it draws the comparison between 
the humanity of Jesus Christ and the 
church which is His mystical body. 

"All these things one and the same 
Spirit worketh, dividing to every one 
according as He wills. For as the body 
is one, and hath many members ; and 
all the members of the body, whereas 
they are many, yet are one body ; so 
also is Christ, For in one Spirit were 
we all baptized into one body ; and in 
one Spirit have we all been made to 
drink/' * 

"As many of you as have been bap- 
tized in Christ, have put on Christ." f 
"The church of which Christ is the 
head, is His body, and the fulness of 
Him, who is filled all in all." £ " Christ 
is the head of the church: He is the 
Saviour of His body. Christ loved the 
church and delivered Himself up for 
it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing 

* 1 Cor. xii 11-13. t Gal. iii. 27. + Ephes. i. 22, 23. 



88 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



it by the laver of water in tlie word of 
life ; that He might present it to Him- 
self a glorious church, not having spot 
or wrinkle. Because we are members of 
His body, of His flesh and His bones." * 
"In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the 
Grodhead corporally : and you are filled 
in Him, who is the head of all princi- 
pality and power. Buried with Him in 
baptism, in whom also you are risen 
again by the faith of the operation of 
God." f 

These passages of Holy Scripture con- 
fine the gifts of redeeming grace, accord- 
ing to the ordinary economy of salva- 
tion, to union with the body of which 
Christ is the head, whence pardon and 
life flow. In this body the Holy Spirit 
dwells ; and by His energy the fallen 
children of Adam are adopted into this 
body, and by regeneration in baptism 
put on Christ, and are joined to His 

*Eph. v. 23-30. t Col. ii. 9-12. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 89 

life-giving humanity. The Holy Ghost 
is the agent in this work. He is the 
worker of regeneration. "That which 
is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that 
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 
Unless a man be born again of water 
and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of God." * This 
union to the humanity of Christ makes 
the regenerate a member of the body 
of Christ, and so " partaker of the di- 
vine nature." f There is, therefore, a 
likeness between the body of Christ 
which He took of Mary in hypostatic 
union with His divinity, and the mys- 
tical body which of many human mem- 
bers is made one by vital union with 
Him. 

We have seen how the eternal Spirit 
had a special care of the sacred human- 
ity of the Word Incarnate. It was con- 
ceived by His operation in the womb 

* St. John iii. 5, 6. 1 1 St. Peter i. 4. 



90 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

of His immaculate Mother. It was an- 
ointed by the special and infused gifts 
of the seven-fold Spirit. So when He 
came to Nazareth after His temptation, 
under the guidance of the same Spirit, 
He entered the synagogue, and, open- 
ing the inspired prophecy, He read these 
words of Himself: "The Spirit of the 
Lord is upon me, wherefore He hath 
anointed me, to preach the Gospel 
to the poor He hath sent me, to heal 
the contrite of heart, to preach deliver- 
ance to the captives, and sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty them that are 
bound, to preach the acceptable year of 
the Lord, and the &a,y of reward. And 
when all eyes were fixed upon Him, 
He began to say to them : This day is 
this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." * 
These words are to be understood in a 
literal sense, as they were directly ap- 
plied by our Lord Himself. In the na- 

*St. Luke iv. 17-21. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 91 



ture which He assumed He was an- 
ointed by the Holy Ghost, both by 
the substantial union of the human na- 
ture with the Word, and also by the 
accidental unction by which all gifts 
were poured upon His humanity. Thus 
says the prophet: "The Spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon Him: the Spirit of 
wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit 
of counsel and of fortitude, the Spirit 
of knowledge and of godliness. And 
He shall be filled with the Spirit of the 
fear of the Lord.' 7 * "So St. Peter 
tells how God anointed Jesus of Naza- 
reth with the Holy Ghost and with 
power." f As the Son of man He was 
anointed and sent to the work of re- 
demption. X 

The parallel between the gifts of the 
Holy Spirit to the Sacred Humanity, 
and His anointing of the mystical body, 



* Isaias xi. 2, 3. + Acts x. 38. 

JSee Cardinal Franzelin's Examen, Sec. H. 



92 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

is plain and beautiful. Grace flows 
from the liead to the members, and the 
members of the mystical body are 
quickened because of the life which 
resides in the Head. Each one of the 
many members baptized into Christ has 
put on Christ, and is to be conform- 
ed to His likeness. The Holy Spirit 
works unceasingly "for the edifying 
of the body of Christ, until we all 
meet in the unity of faith, and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, 
unto a perfect Man, unto the measure 
of the age of the fulness of Christ." * 
" So in prophetic vision the apostle be- 
held the great reality : the heavens 
opened, and the angels of God ascend- 
ing and descending upon the Son of 
Man," f upon the body of Christ. The 
mystery of the Incarnation is real ; it 
is the foundation of all our hope. As 
it is real, so the unction of the Spirit 

*Eph. iv. 12, 13. tSt. John i. 51. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 93 

is real: and the way to peace for our 
fallen race is only by the embrace and 
participation of the humanity of the 
Word made flesh. And this participa- 
tion is by the gift of the Holy Ghost in 
the visible body wherein He dwells to 
complete the work of Christ, and bring 
all to the unity of one Man. "Thus 
only do we" receive power to become 
the sons of God. Thus are we born, 
not of blood, nor of the will of the 
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God." * To this end was the Word 
made flesh, and for this did He dwell 
among us. 

The conclusions which flow from our 
brief view of the earthly home of the 
Holy Ghost are such as should move all 
hearts. We are still to walk about this 
Sion, and tell its towers, and gaze upon 
its wonders. It is as if we were to 



*St. John i. 12-14. 



94 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

see the light and beauty which emanate 
from the Incarnate Son of God, in the 
temple made by His human hands. 

Yet there are two lessons already im- 
plied in our argument which we beg 
the blessed Spirit to impress upon your 
hearts. 

How w r onderful is the plan of salva- 
tion which is here revealed to us ! The 
condescension of the Father, the incar- 
nation of the Son, and the indwelling 
of the Holy Ghost are the mysteries of 
grace by which the fallen race of Adam 
is brought back to God. When all hu- 
man help was in vain, and the pity of 
angels availed nothing, the majesty of 
the Trinity was bowed dowm, and the 
strength of the eternal Three was spent 
in our redemption. "The first man w^as 
of the earth, earthly," " and by him 
came death." "The second Man is from 
heaven, heavenly," "and in Him all 
shall be made alive." "We have borne 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 95 

the image of the earthly ; we are to bear 
also the image of the heavenly."* The 
new race takes the place of the old. 
The second Adam is a quickening Spirit. 
In Him we are one body, the temples of 
the Holy Ghost, and the habitation of 
God through the Spirit. In Him we are 
anointed with the unction from above ; 
and as on the Sacred Humanity the 
glory of the Paraclete rested, descending 
like a dove and abiding on Him, so on 
the mystical body which is one with 
that Humanity the oil of gladness per- 
petually flows. "God, even Thy God, 
hath anointed Thee with the oil of 
gladness above Thy fellows." f The re- 
deemed are in truth the children of the 
Father, because the brethren of the Son 
and the tabernacles of the Holy Ghost. 
It is all from God, and of God, and in 
God. Our salvation is in the Trin- 
ity and in unity. " Behold how good 

* 1 Cor. xv, 47, 49. t Hebrews i. 9. 



96 THE DIVIKE PARACLETE. 

and pleasant a thing it is for brethren 
to dwell together in unity. It is like 
the precious ointment on the head, that 
ran down upon the beard, the beard of 
Aaron ; which ran down to the skirt of 
his garment : as the dew of Hermon, 
or that which descendeth upon Mount 
Sion. For there the Lord hath com- 
manded blessing and life for ever- 
more."* The unction from above is the 
Holy Spirit. Upon the body of Christ 
it descends, and remains only with those 
who are joined to that Humanity, as 
" the members of His flesh and of His 
bones." 

They, therefore, who seek for the 
sanctifying grace of the Spirit must 
come to the home where He dwells, to 
the visible temple where alone the Para- 
clete " takes of the things of Christ and 
show r s them to His chosen." "The 
unity of the Spirit is in the bond of 

* Psalm cxxxii. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 97 

peace," 6 'the house of God, which is the 
church,"* " against which the gates of 
hell cannot prevail." f " As there is 
one Spirit, there is one body, one Lord, 
one faith, and one baptism." Vainly 
shall man seek any other salvation, or 
hope to draw nigh the eternal Trinity, 
without the atonement of the Son and 
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. The 
devices of men are folly, and the works 
of human hands shall perish. " Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but the word 
of the Lord shall not pass away.";}: 
As the ark upon the waves of the de- 
luge, so is the church of Jesus Christ. 
It bears the children of the Second 
Adam to the heavenly shore, and there 
the earthly home of the Holy Ghost be- 
comes the temple of the beatific vision. 
"The Lord God Almighty is the temple 
thereof, and the Lamb." The voice of 
the Spirit speaks in the harmony of 

*1 Tim. iii. 15. t St. Matt. xvi. 18. J St. Mark xiii. 31. 



98 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



angels: "Come, and I will show thee 
the bride, the wife of the Lamb."* 
"Let us be glad and rejoice, for the 
marriage of the Lamb is come, and His 
wife hath prepared herself." f 



* Apoc. xxi. 7. 



t Apoc. xix. 7. 



Sermon III. 



THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST TO THE CHURCH. 



" And there are three that give testimony on earth : the Spirit, and 
the water, and the blood ; and these three are one. 1 '— 1 St. John 
v. 8. 

We have already anticipated the sub- 
ject on which we now propose to dwell. 
In speaking of the visible church as the 
temple of the divine Spirit we have of 
necessity implied the gracious fruits of 
His indwelling. Yet so great are these 
fruits, and so wholly supernatural does 
the church become by reason of the pres- 
ence of God, which vitalizes her, as the 
soul informs the body, that it is neces- 
sary, even in this brief series of dis- 
courses, to draw out and make manifest 

99 



100 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

these wonderful endowments of the body 
of Christ. They are wonderful because 
all that comes from God is admirable be- 
yond our powers of appreciation ; but 
they are the direct consequences of the 
actual presence of the life-giving Spirit, 
who, wherever He is, must quicken all 
He touches with divine energy. In the 
text the apostle draws a parallel between 
the witnesses of Jesus Christ on earth 
and in heaven. The Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost give their testimony in hea- 
ven, and proclaim the Incarnate Son to 
all intelligences. On earth the Holy 
Ghost gives testimony of Christ and 
reveals the truth as it is in Jesus. In 
Hirn as the God-Man are our regenera- 
tion and redemption. With His human- 
ity He came to bear our burdens, by 
His flesh to heal our disorders, and by 
His Blood to expiate and wash away 
our offences. " This is He that came by 
water and blood : not by water only, 



THE DIVUSTE PARACLETE. 101 

but by water and blood. And it is the 
Spirit who testifieth that Christ is the 
truth." * Thus the Holy Ghost really 
takes u the things of Christ," all the pre- 
cious gifts of His Passion, and applies 
them to man. He not only w r rites upon 
his mind the truths revealed in Christ, 
but He brings the whole person of Christ, 
with all His saving power, to the believer. 
The humanity is the victim for our 
sins. The body is broken and the blood 
is poured out. The sacred Heart is 
pierced, and the stream of water and 
blood gushes forth plenteous! y. These 
streams which spring from the Man- 
God on the cross are filled with the 
unction of the Spirit ; and by them He 
works to glorify Christ and bring back 
the erring world to peace. The water 
and the blood are in the hands of the 
Spirit, and by them He completes the 



1 St. John v. 6. 



102 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

work of the glorified Son. Mystically, 
by the Spirit, the water, and the blood 
are signified the three which concur to 
our justification. So they as one, be- 
cause in the hands of one Spirit, give 
their united testimony to the Lamb of 
God, by whom alone all sin is taken 
away. The blood signifies the merit of 
the Passion and death of Christ, which 
is applied in our reconciliation to God ; 
the water signifies the washing away of 
our sins ; and the Spirit infuses the gifts 
of grace and charity, by which we are 
made just. Thus St. Ambrose says that 
"we are renewed in our minds by 
the Spirit, and purified by water, and 
that the blood is the price of our re- 
demption." "These three," in the lan- 
guage of St. Leo, "are the Spirit of sanc- 
tification, the blood of redemption, and 
the water of baptism." These three are 
one in end, as they are one' in opera- 
tion. They represent the mystical power 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 103 

of the Trinity in the body of Jesus 
Christ on earth. 

In this discourse, and in the one which 
follows, we are to behold the testimony 
of these three witnesses, and adore the 
wonders which the Holy Ghost works in 
the church and in the individual be- 
liever. The Spirit, all-divine as He is, 
could not work without the w r ater and 
the blood, could not have descended to 
a substantial union with man, if the 
atonement had not prepared His way ; 
could not dwell on earth where the hu- 
manity of the Word did not call Him, 
and open the place for His sanctifying 
repose. 

The earthly testimony of the Holy 
Ghost in the visible temple which He 
hallows, may be seen in the gifts His 
presence bestows upon the church. They 
are principally that of supernatural 
life ; that of knowledge in the un- 
derstanding and teaching of the truth ; 



104 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

and that of holiness, by which the whole 
body is quickened as by a central prin- 
ciple of sanctification. In this brief view 
of the endowments of the bride of 
Christ may be seen the whole mystery 
of grace. 

I. 

As the soul informs the body of man 
and gives it vitality, so the Holy Spirit, 
as a soul to the church, communicates 
to her the gift of life. In the first crea- 
tion of our race "the Lord God formed 
the body of man of the slime of the 
earth" ; but though formed, he had no 
life, "until the Creator breathed into Ms 
face the breath of life"; " then he be- 
came a living soul." * This life was in 
the union of a living principle with the 
body, and it was in its own order. The 
human soul gave a human life, and 
to the vitalized body communicated its 

* Genesis ii. 7. 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 105 

own energies. The animal frame awoke 
with all the properties of the rational 
and immortal principle which animated 
it. The eternal Spirit, however, is in the 
divine order, and the life which flows 
from Him is that of God. The energies 
He communicates are those of the divine 
Being ; and the body . which He ani- 
mates possesses a life far above that of 
earth. This is the necessity of His ope- 
ration, who always works as God. 

The life of the church may be seen 
in its birth, which is the new creation, 
in its indefectibility, and in its catho- 
licity. 

1. The Christian Fathers fail not to see 
in the creation of our mother Eve from 
the side of Adam the type of the forma- 
tion of the church from the pierced 
breast of Jesus Christ. Prom Adam came 
forth, by the hand of God, the woman 
fully formed to be his bride and the 
mother of the human race. From the 



106 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

second Adam on the cross came forth 
the blood and water which, through the 
agency of the Spirit, were to purify the 
fallen, and form a spouse for the Lamb. 
Thus the apostle draws the parallel be- 
tween the bridegroom and the bride, and 
Christ and His church: "He is the 
head of the church, as the husband is 
the head of the wife V "This is a great 
sacrament, but I speak in Christ and the 
church." The bride of Jesus Christ is, 
then, formed by the operation of the 
Holy Spirit, and derives her life from 
her spouse, the Word made flesh. The 
coming of the divine Spirit into the 
body prepared for Him was like the 
breathing of the living soul into our 
father Adam. By one spiration the man 
began to live ; by the other the race, 
dead in sin, was quickened to immortal- 
ity. The church, in its corporate life, 
takes upon itself personality, and becomes 
joined in nuptial union to the heavenly 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 



107 



Bridegroom. The communication of the 
Holy Spirit is the new creation. The 
first creation produces only a human life ; 
the second takes hold of eternity. If 
such were not the fruit of the presence 
of God in the church, we could not be- 
lieve in that presence ; since it could not 
be found in death or without the com- 
munication of life. "The law of the 
Spirit of life delivers us from the law of 
sin and death. We are not in the flesh, 
but in the Spirit."* "In Christ Jesus 
neither circumcision availeth anything, 
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. "f 
"If any one be in Christ he is a new 
creature ; the old things are passed 
away : behold, all things are made new.";}: 
"Christ is the Saviour of His body. 
Xo man ever hated his own flesh, but 
nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also 
Christ doth the church." § The life of the 
church appears in its divine character, 

* Rom. Tiii 2, 9. t GaL vi. 15. $ 2 Cor. v. 17. § Ephes. v. 23, 29. 



108 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

from the fact that it is the life of His 
body ; and the body of the Son of God 
must of necessity be living, even as 
Christ lives. Moreover, that any one 
be made the member of this body, he 
must be born again of water and the 
Holy Ghost. As we have already seen, 
regeneration by holy Baptism is the 
means of nnion with the body of Christ. 
4 'By one Spirit are we all baptized into 
Christ, . and so into one body, where we 
all drink of one Spirit." * 

Where, then, the Holy Spirit dwells, 
where He works the grace of a new 
birth, and unites the members of the 
fallen Adam to the hnmanity of the 
Son of God, there must be true life, and 
the life of the Deity. In the communi- 
cation of this life the Holy Ghost is the 
principal worker, and the water and the 
blood are applied by His power. The 



* 1 Cor. xiii. 13 ; Gal. iii. 27. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 109 

individual born again is passed from the 
corporate life of mere humanity to the 
new life of the body of the sanctified, 
who are made one in Christ, and nour- 
ished from His flesh and blood. This 
is the glory of the Christian Church, 
that it lives by the vitalizing energy of 
its soul, which is the Paraclete, proceed- 
ing eternally from the Father and the 
Son, and sent by both to complete the 
miracles of redemption. 

2. If this vitality of the church pro- 
ceed from the breath of God, and depend 
upon His continual presence, it cannot 
tail. It is everlasting. It proceeds not 
from a temporary union of the Sanctifier 
with the intelligence of man ; but, as we 
have seen, from a substantial union with 
the regenerate in their corporate capacity. 
The church is always the body of 
Christ, and can never lose its vital union 
with the Holy Ghost. This union is 
indissoluble, and, like the union of the 



110 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

two natures in the one Christ, it cannot 
be sundered. Then, though individual 
members may perish by separation from 
the body, the church can never decay, 
grow old, or perish. It may suffer, and 
become the object of the world's attack. 
The battle around it may rage with 
violence ; the gates of hell cannot pre- 
vail. It cannot fare worse than the 
adorable Humanity in Gethsemani, and 
on the cross. It will live till the lat- 
ter day, amid " the wreck of matter 
and the crush of worlds." It has stood 
firmly united to the rock of Peter on 
which Christ built it, while all man's 
strongest works have crumbled to decay ; 
and the powers which have arrayed 
themselves against it have been ground 
to powder. Its life is the miracle of 
our world, the proof that " God is in 
the midst thereof, and that it shall not 
be moved, though the earth be troubled, 
and the mountains be removed into the 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. Ill 

heart of the sea. " * The life of the 
Christian Church is the proof incontes- 
table of her divine character. " For this 
cause," says St. Ignatius, " did the Lord 
take the ointment on His head, that He 
might breathe incorruption upon the 
church." f To this end are the words of 
St. Cyprian : " The church is one which, 
having obtained the grace of eternal life, 
both lives for ever, and gives life to 
the people of God." X The language of 
St. Chrysostom is the rehearsal of our 
arguments : " The church is stronger 
than heaven. Heaven and earth shall 
pass away, but my words shall not 
pass away. What words ? Thou art Pe- 
ter, and upon this rock will I build my 
church, and the gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it. If thou believe not 
the word, believe the facts. How many 
tyrants would fain have overcome the 
Church ! And they prevailed not. Where 

* Psalm xlv. 3, 6. t Epistle to the Epkesians. % Ep. lxxi. ad Quintum. 



112 TIIE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

are those that warred against her ? 
They are unnamed ; they are buried in 
oblivion. But where is the church \ 
She shines brighter than the sun. She 
is immortal. "* The continued existence 
of the church is a manifest proof that 
her life is in God. So when we profess 
our faith in the Holy Ghost we im- 
mediately add our confession of " one 
holy. Catholic Church." We only know 
the divine Spirit through the church, 
and we cannot really believe in the Holy 
Ghost, unless we also believe in the 
Church which He sanctifies, and in which 
He is communicated to us. 

3. The catholicity of the Church is 
also another consequence of her super- 
natural life. Being the temple of the 
Spirit, she is for the world which Christ 
redeemed, and so for all times and pla- 
ces. The Jewish Church was indeed the 
Church of God. but it was not the tem- 

* St. Chrvsostom, t. iii. 



THE DIVIDE PAKACLETE. 113 

pie of the Holy Ghost ; whatever gra- 
ces its members received, they were not 
the brethren of the Incarnate Word nor 
the children of the regeneration. The eter- 
nal Paraclete had not come in His fulness, 
nor was He united to the Jewish theo- 
cracy, which had a national and not a 
corporate life, as He is now united to 
the body of believers who are baptized 
into one Christ. Hence the grand economy 
of the Old Law did not pass the bounds 
of the national unity ; and even from 
that unity tribe after tribe became apos- 
tate. But the Christian Church, ani- 
mated by the almighty Spirit, can be 
bound by no laws of race or nation. 
By its own vitality it passes from land 
to land, from east to west and from 
north to south. There is no limit to 
the prolific energy of the Holy Ghost. 
It is for all times, all tribes and tongues. 
The church could not be one, unless 
she were at the same time Catholic ; 



114 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

since the salvation of Christ is for all 
men, and the pity of the Trinity is 
extended towards all who have sinned. 
" Going therefore," said the risen and 
ascending Lord to His apostles, " teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all 
things which I have commanded you : 
and behold, I am with you all days, 
even to the consummation of the world." * 
This commission is perpetual, and by its 
power the church extends like a fruit- 
ful vine to bless the earth. ~No power 
can quench its life, and no force prevent 
its living growth. It is in every age 
the city of God, illumined by the divine 
presence ; always and everywhere the 
temple of the Holy Ghost. No body or 
aggregation of men which has not this 
quality can lay any claim to the partici- 
pation in the gift of Pentecost, or the 

* St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 115 

indwelling of the Spirit. The church of 
Jesus Christ is Catholic by the necessity 
of her being ; and by this note she alone 
vindicates her claim to be the tabernacle 
of God upon earth, and the organ of 
His grace. " The faith which we re- 
hearse," says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 
u contains in order the following: 'And 
into one baptism for the remission of 
sins, and into one holy, Catholic Church.' 
Now, it is called Catholic because it is 
throughout the world, from one end of 
the earth to the other ; and because it 
teaches universally all the doctrines 
which ought to come to men's know- 
ledge. . . . And if ever thou art so- 
journing in any city, inquire not sim- 
ply w r here the Lord's house is (for the 
sects also attempt to call their own 
meeting- places houses of the Lord), nor 
merely where is the church, but where 
is the Catholic church % For this is the 
peculiar name of the holy mother of 



116 THE DIVIDE PAEACLETE. 

us all, which is indeed the spouse of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten 
Son of God." * The name signifies a 
reality, and no heretical sect has ever 
been able to keep the name or show a 
pretence of its truth. This fact alone is a 
proof of the divinity of the true church. 
So says St. Augustine: "The agreement 
of peoples and of nations keeps me ; an 
authority begun with miracles, nourished 
with hope, increased with charity, con- 
firmed by antiquity, keeps me ; the suc- 
cession of priests from the chair itself 
of the Apostle Peter, unto whom the 
Lord, after His resurrection, committed 
His sheep to be fed. down even to the 
present bishop, keeps me ; finally, the 
name itself of the Catholic Church keeps 
me — a name which, in the midst of so 
many heresies, this church alone has held 
possession of." f The catholicity of the 
church is not an accident, but a neces- 

* St. Cyril, Catech. xviii. t T. viii. Contra Ep.Manichaei. 



THE DIVIKE PARACLETE. 117 

sity of its life through the Holy Ghost, 
and its union to the humanity of Jesus 
Christ. The body which is not catholic 
has no claims to the Holy Ghost, or to 
the gifts of His presence. Whatever life 
it may have is human and temporary. 
It cannot be divine and permanent. 

II. 

The life communicated to the church 
is for the end of completing the work 
of Christ, and making known His Gos- 
pel to the successive generations of men. 
The Holy Ghost abiding in His temple 
is the divine light shining in the dark- 
ness of earth. And the most necessary 
office of the church is to teach to all men 
the faith by which they may be sav^ed. 
As the incorruptible body of Christ, and 
the dwelling of the eternal Spirit, she 
must possess a supernatural knowledge 
of the truth, and the power to teach, 
without the possibility of error. There 



118 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

is also another faculty which comes 
from the life of her soul, the Spirit of 
" God. It is the power not only to 
teach, but to give the grace which pre- 
pares the way of truth, and enables 
the hearer to appreciate and improve it. 
In the second gift of the Holy Ghost to 
the church are comprehended, therefore, 
inerrancy in receiving divine revelation, 
infallibility in teaching it, and superna- 
tural unction in imparting it. In these 
three departments of her infallibility 
the church acts, as she can only act, as 
the organ of the Spirit. She has no life 
without Him, and never can her union 
with Him be sundered, not even for a 
moment. It is always the Holy Ghost 
who lives, speaks, and acts in and 
through her. Let us briefly glance at 
these fruits of the divine presence in 
the church. They are among the plain- 
est yet most fundamental truths of our 
religion. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 119 

1. The church is a living organism of 
visible men, framed by an almighty 
hand, and vitalized by the Spirit pro- 
ceeding from the Father and the Son. 
The intelligent natures which are made 
one body in Christ by the uniting and 
quickening energy of the one Spirit are 
at once enlightened by the grace which 
flows from Him. He is the omniscient 
Spirit, to whom all things are known. 
u He searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
things of God. For what man knoweth 
the things of a man, but the spirit of a 
man that is in him? So the things that 
are of God, no man knoweth but the 
Spirit of God. ISTow we have received 
the Spirit of God, that we may know 
the things that are given us from 
God." * No one can question the know- 
ledge of God. He is the truth un- 
created, and the things that are, derive 
their being and their possibility from 

* 1 Cor. ii. 10-12. 



120 THE DIVIDE PAKACLETE. 

His omniscience. But the Holy Ghost 
comes to animate the church, in order 
to impart to mortal men the truth they 
need to know, and to make plain to 
them the work and mission of Jesus 
Christ. Such is the exact language of 
our Lord Himself: " When the Para- 
clete cometh, whom I will send you 
from the Father, the Spirit of truth, 
who proceedeth from the Father, He 
shall give testimony of me. When He, 
the Spirit of truth, is come, He will 
teach .you all truth : for He shall not 
speak of Himself ; but what things so- 
ever He shall hear, He shall sjjeak ; and 
the things that are to come, He shall 
show you. He shall glorify me, because 
He shall receive of mine, and shall 
show it to you." * The truth, there- 
fore, which the human intelligence is 
able to receive, is communicated to it 
by the special influence of the Holy 

* St. John xv. 28 ; xvi. 13, 14. 



THE DIVHNTE PAKACLETE. 121 

Ghost; and there must of necessity be 
inerrancy in the church which, hearing 
the words of God, is able to keep them 
and make them fruitful. The Word in- 
carnate spoke on earth, and His words 
are made manifest by the Paraclete. 
Apostles have spoken, and the Spirit 
has spoken by them. In the diversi- 
ties of grace there is but one God, who 
worketh all in all. The supreme Pastor 
of the church, whose faith, by the pro- 
mise of Christ, can never fail, speaketh, 
and it is the Holy Ghost who speaketh 
in and by him. "AH these things one 
and the same Spirit worketh. For as 
the body is one and hath many mem- 
bers, and all the members of the body, 
whereas they are many, are yet one 
body : so also is Christ." * To suppose 
the possibility of error in the reception 
of the faith by the church would be to 
deny the presence and power of God, 

* 1 Cor. xii. 11, 12. 



122 THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 

to call in question the attributes of the 
Holy Ghost, and separate what the di- 
vine hands have closely joined together, 
Christ and the church. There is no 
Spirit of truth on earth, unless He can 
communicate that truth. There is no 
Paraclete among men, unless, according 
to promise, He can take the precious 
things of the "Word made flesh, and 
show us their priceless meaning. 

2. The possession of the truth re- 
vealed implies the power to teach it, 
and to teach it infallibly. In fact, there 
is no other way of teaching, and espe- 
cially in the things divine. He who 
teaches not with certainty is, in no sense 
of the word, a teacher. But where the 
knowledge of faith comes directly from 
God to a living body of men, it is mani- 
fest that it so comes, that it may be im- 
parted to the world. The end of the 
sanctiiication of the church, by the con- 
tinual indwelling of the Spirit of God, is 



THE DIVIDE PAKACLETE. 123 

that it may make known the faith and 
bring the world to believe and obey it. 
All that the Son of man wrought upon 
earth was "for the perfecting of the 
saints, for the edifying of the body of 
Christ : until we all meet in the unity 
of the faith, and of the knowledge of 
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the age of the ful- 
ness of Christ." * In this we see the 
manifold wisdom of the plan of salva- 
tion. The Word made flesh could not 
speak in our flesh to the successive ages 
of men. So, ascending on high, He sent 
the Spirit, who, abiding in a body made 
up of living men, is able to speak to 
each generation, and everywhere impart 
the knowledge which is able to en- 
lighten and save. As, then, the Holy 
Ghost communicates the truth to the 
church, so does He speak through her ; 
and her words are, therefore, the unfail- 

* Eph. iv. 12, 13. 



124 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

ing words of God. There is a mystery 
in the wonderful indwelling of the Spirit, 
in the life He lives in the temple which 
He illumines. But there is no mystery 
in the infallibility of the church which 
He sanctifies. Rather it is an impossi- 
bility in the nature of things that the 
body which He inhabits should fail of 
truth, or be committed to error. So St. 
Paul declares that she is "the church 
of the living God, who cannot perish, 
and, therefore, the pillar and ground 
of the truth." * And the church, as 
an organized body, speaks through her 
head, her supreme governor, the suc- 
cessor of the Blessed Peter, to whom 
Christ promised that he should stand 
for ever immovable: "Thou art Peter, 
and on this rock will I build my 
church, and the gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it." f "The gates of 
hell are heretics and heresiarchs. For 

* 1 St. Tim. iii. 15. t St. Matt. xvi. 18. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 125 

in every way was the faith confirmed in 
Mm, who received the keys of the king- 
dom of heaven, who looses on earth and 
binds in heaven. For in him are found 
all the subtle questions of faith. He 
was aided by the Father, so as to be 
the foundation of the security of the 
faith. He heard from that same God, 
■ Peter, feed my lambs ' ; to him was en- 
trusted the flock ; he leads the way ad- 
mirably in the power of his own mas- 
ter." * ''Therefore," says St. Ambrose, 

• i where Peter is, there is the church ; 
where the church is, there death is not, 
but life eternal." f 

3. The Holy Ghost, however, does not 
teach as do men. Employing human in- 
strumentality, which He sanctifies, He 
acts ever as God, and impresses upon 
the intelligence and heart the truth 
which He imparts. His words are all- 
quickening. "The word of God is liv- 

* St. Epipiianius, t. ii. In Anchor. f St. Ambrose, t. i. In Ps. xl. 



126 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

ing and effectual, and more piercing 
than any two-edged sword : and reach- 
ing unto the division of the soul and 
the spirit, of the joints also and the 
marrow ; and is a discerner of the 
thoughts and intents of the heart." * 
He prepares the w T ay of the faith which 
He teaches, and by His breath gives 
unction to the voice which proclaims 
it. He infuses the virtue of faith, and 
enables the different minds to hear as 
one, and see as one in the things re- 
vealed. Thus he gives the capacity to 
believe, and makes the grand unity of 
faith in the one body of Christ. There 
is no difficulty in receiving the mys- 
teries of the Gospel. Rather there is a 
special aptitude to hear these words of 
the Spirit, and a readiness to embrace 
the truth as He delivers it to men. 
Thus the great miracle of internal 
unity is wrought throughout the vast 

* Heb. iv. 12. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 127 

domain of the church, where from all 
tribes and tongues is one confession. 
The miracle of the external oneness of 
the Catholic Church in the earth, 
where all tends to decay and death, is 
great indeed ; but far more wonderful 
is the unity which, around one visible 
centre of life, speaks the words of one 
faith. Only God could work this unity, 
which is an image of Himself and the 
mysterious Godhead where Three are 
One. "They who are members of the 
one body are one, as the Father is in 
the Son, and the Son in the Father." * 
This is the unction of which St. John 
speaks: "You have the unction from 
the Holy One, and know all things. 
And you have no need that any man 
teach you: but as His unction teaches 
you of all things, and is truth." f It 
is the fruit of the Holy Spirit living 
in the church. As, when the man 

* St. John xvii. 21. f 1 St. John ii. 20, 27. 



128 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

speaketh, it is the soul which speaks, 
though the words are those of a hu- 
man voice, so it is the Holy Ghost who 
speaketh by the voice of the church ; 
and her voice is, therefore, that of 
God, with all the energy and unction 
of divinity. 

With such power to receive the truth, 
to proclaim it infallibly, and to write 
it upon the hearts of mankind, the 
Catholic Church is the earthly manifes- 
tation of the Holy Ghost. In one re- 
spect she is human, because formed of 
mortal men ; in another respect she is 
divine, because informed by the Spirit 
of God ; because He who eternally pro- 
ceedeth from the Father and the Son, 
and is the love of both, abides in her 
to reveal the sacred Humanity to her, 
and in her to show forth the wonders 
of redemption. Thus our humanity is 
sanctified by the touch of God, and, in 
the new creation by water and the Holy 



THE DIVIXE PARACLETE. 129 

Ghost, is made meet for an eternal union 
with the divine nature. Not in figure 
but in reality is the church the body 
of Christ, formed by the special opera- 
tion of the Spirit, and filled with the 
qualities of Deity by reason of His in- 
dwelling. 

III. 

The Holy G-host is the active princi- 
ple of sanctification. In His nature pro- 
ceeding from the Father and the Son, as 
the eternal expression of their mutual 
will and love, He is the organ of com- 
munication with created things. Wher- 
ever, then, He is, there is the liberality of 
the Trinity in the giving of grace, the 
beneficence of the Godhead in the pour- 
ing out His divine influence. The body, 
therefore, which the Spirit animates must 
partake of His holiness. Its supernatu- 
ral life is all from Him, and shares in 
His essential attributes. Moreover, the 



130 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

end of His indwelling is the sanctifica- 
tion of the church, according to the 
eternal purpose of God "to re-establish 
all things in Christ." God is essential 
holiness, and they who are in God are 
sanctified by the participation of His 
gifts and by union to Him. " The tem- 
ple of God is holy," * and the body 
of Christ, joined to His incorruptible 
humanity, is ever instinct with the life 
of God. The true church of Jesus Christ, 
by the very condition of its being, is 
holy, and so must abide for ever. In- 
dividual members who fall from Christ 
have lost the life of the body, and are 
cut off from the Holy Ghost ; but the 
church continues in her integrity to the 
end of her dispensation. This loss of 
the Holy Spirit in the separation from 
the body of Christ is the second death, 
because it is the death of the new or 
second creation ; and if it be final, it 

* 1 Cor. iii. 17. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 131 

is eternal, as the Holy Ghost, the giv- 
er of life, will return no more. "The 
blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be 
forgiven." * The operation of the Holy 
Ghost in the church is in full accord- 
ance with the organic life by which 
the body of Christ is constituted. He 
is an invisible Spirit and " breatheth 
where He wills " ; yet by the fact of 
His habitation in an organization of 
men, to which by His presence He 
gives supernatural life, He has been 
pleased to usurp external signs as the 
certain means of communicating His 
graces. The church itself is the exter- 
nal sign of His presence, and the sac- 
rament of unity with God. This incor- 
poration with God through Christ by 
the Spirit can take place only by union 
to the church in which the Holy Ghost 
dwells. A brief glance at the sacramen- 
tal system plainly taught in Holy Scrip- 

* St. Matt. xii. 31. 



132 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

ture will clearly set before us the man- 
ner in which He imparts His life, and 
makes holy the body which, partaking 
of his attributes, demonstrates to the 
world, to angels and men, the truth of 
His salvation. Here "the manifold wis- 
dom of God is made known even to 
the principalities and powers in heaven- 
ly places through the church." * While 
we see the gracious manner of the 
Spirit's operations, we shall at the same 
time behold the proof of the divinity 
of the church which He sanctifies, "the 
building fitly framed together, the holy 
temple, in which men are built together 
for an habitation of Grod." f 

The graces by which we are quickened 
into a new life, are wrought by sacra- 
ments which are the external signs of 
the quickening action of the Spirit, or 
living soul of the church. These signs 
not only signify the sanctifying power 

* Eph. iii. 10. t Ephes. ii. 21, 22. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 133 

of God for the special end they expres3, 
but they actually, convey the grace 
they signify. They are means by which 
Christ prepares for Himself "a glorious 
church, not having spot or wrinkle";* 
and so He who is the head, " according 
to His operation in the measure of every 
part, maketh increase of the body unto 
the edifying of itself in charity." f So 
the Fathers call the sacraments "the 
fruits of the Lord's incarnation, the pre- 
cious vessels in which the merits and 
blood of Christ are contained, the reme- 
dies of our disordered nature, and the 
fountains of water springing up to life 
eternal, by which fallen men are re- 
stored, healed, and raised to beatitude." 
The existence of such sacraments, as the 
channels of the life of the Holy Ghost, 
is the demonstration of the unity and 
sanctity of the Church. And while the 
institution of the sacraments is coeval 

* Eph. v. 27. t Eph. iv. 16» 



134 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

with Christianity, so that their denial 
is the complete rejection of historical 
faith delivered by Christ; the language 
of Holy Scripture is so plain that error 
seems impossible to the sincere and 
honest mind. We shall only glance at 
the outline of this argument, as it stands 
in direct connection with our subject. 

1. The sacrament of Baptism is the first 
touch of the Holy Ghost, whereby, with 
sanctifying grace, He takes the fallen child 
of Adam and admits him to union with 
the body of Christ, and so with the sacred 
and life-giving humanity of the second 
Adam. "In one Spirit were we all bap- 
tized into one body," and by this baptism 
we are made "the body of Christ and 
menil ers of member." * So the apostle 
tells us there is and can be but one 
baptism, as there is one Lord, one body, 
and one Spirit. The church is the cor- 
porate body of the baptized, who makf 

* 1 Cor. xii. 13, 27. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 135 

n unity far above all human unities, 
by reason of the action of the Spirit. 
This still more appears by the union 
which baptism gives to the sacred hu- 
manity of Jesus Christ. "As many of 
you as have been baptized in Christ 
have put on Christ, and are all one in 
Him." * This union is life-giving of 
necessity, since the flesh of Christ is 
the life of the world, "and hath life in 
itself." f "We are buried together with 
Him by baptism into death, that as He 
is risen from the dead by the glory of 
the Father, so we also may walk in 
newness of life." X But baptism is the 
new creation, or the new birth, accord- 
ing to the express words of our Lord : 
" Unless a man be born again of water 
and the Holy Grhost, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God. That which is born 
of the flesh is flesh: and that which is 
born of the Spirit is spirit." § Here it 

* Gal. iii. 27, 28. t St. John v. 26. % Rom. vi. 4. § St. John iii. 5, G. 



136 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

is plainly declared tliat the Spirit, by the 
application of water as an external sign 
of His purification, gives to the soul a 
new birth, by virtue of which it is ad- 
mitted into the kingdom of God. This 
is the water which, with the Holy Ghost, 
testifies to the divine virtue of the re- 
demption of Christ. There is no mean- 
ing in the words of Scripture unless 
this be their sense ; and there is no in- 
terpretation which can separate the new 
birth from holy baptism without doing 
violence to the mind and language of the 
Lord. So the Apostle St. Paul declares 
that the church is the body of Christ, 
and that He is the saviour of it, because 
it is His body; and that "He sanctifies 
it by the laver of water in the word of 
life." * As the old creation presents us 
the waters of chaos in their darkness, 
with the "Spirit of God moving upon 
the face of the deep," so the new cre- 

* Epb. v. 23, 26. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 137 

ation brings before our faith the wa- 
ters of baptism filled with the quicken- 
ing energy of the same Holy Ghost. The 
fruit of the first action of the Spirit was 
the material earth, with the race of man 
in form and soul like unto the eternal 
Trinity. The fruit of the second and 
mightier action, in the deeper darkness 
of rebel intelligence and disordered wills, 
is the opening of a "new heaven and a 
new earth," and the birth of a regene- 
rated manhood, in which appears the 
face of the Word incarnate, the Child 
of Mary, the unfallen Adam, the Lord 
from heaven. 

2. The life thus imparted by regene- 
ration is for eternity ; and no power but 
the will of the new-born can quench or 
destroy its eternal vigor. It is fed by 
the streams which run eternally from 
the sacred Humanity, and which are 
applied by the Holy Ghost, who in the 
church is continually " taking the things 



138 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

of Christ" and making them ours. 
The sacraments span the whole field of 
life and struggle, and meet our every 
need. In Confirmation the Spirit comes 
with His seven-fold gifts to strengthen 
the new creature in his supernatural 
life, and to illumine his path with "the 
seven lamps which burn ever before the 
throne." * In this sacrament, as in Bap- 
tism, the mighty God who acts imprints 
an everlasting character upon the soul. 
It is a touch of the Spirit which can 
never be effaced. 

In Penance, the Paraclete leads the 
repentant soul to the very feet of the 
crucified Humanity, and by His uncre- 
ated hands applies the healing Blood of 
the cross. Thus life lost or weakened 
is restored from the same source ; and 
the Blood testifies to the union of the 
humanity with the divinity in the per- 
son of the Son of God. The stream 

*Apoc, iv. 5. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 139 

which flows from the veins of a divine 
Man hath power to cleanse every stain ; 
and there is no other fountain for un- 
cleanness. By the Holy Ghost is this 
power of remission in the church. For 
the Word breathed upon His priesthood, 
and said: " Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 
whose sins you shall forgive, they are 
forgiven them." * 

So Christian marriage is made holy, 
and the disorder of our fallen race 
healed, at the fountain whence spring 
the family and all sacred human ties. 
It is even the type of the union be- 
tween the church and her Lord. In a 
certain sense u the husband is the head 
of the wife, as Christ is the head of 
the church. This is a great sacra- 
ment." f 

And when the battle of life ap- 
proaches its end, and the child of the 
new creation comes to the supreme 

* St. John xx. 22, 23. t Eph. v. 23, 32. 



140 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

moment when to tlie omniscient Judge 
he must render account of all his pil- 
grimage, and answer for the gifts of 
the Holy Grhost ; then the same loving 
hand which ' £ sealed him to the day of 
redemption"* will meet him with power 
once' more. At the sight of the saving 
cross the enemies of darkness flee away. 
Upon the chill waters of death the 
living Spirit moves ; and the marks of 
grace are renewed upon -all the senses, 
that they may awake in the world of 
realities, and with supernal vigor enter 
upon the true life of the just. The 
body is laid, indeed, in the dust ; but 
it is sealed by the Holy Ghost for a 
blessed resurrection. " He that raised 
up Jesus Christ from the dead shall 
quicken also your mortal bodies, be- 
cause of His Spirit that dwelleth 
within you." f Thus are "the believing 



* Eph. iv. 30. 



t Rom. viii. 11. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 141 

signed with the holy Spirit of pro- 
mise."* 

In the sacrament of Holy Order the 
Holy Ghost makes perpetual the priest- 
hood, which is His instrument in the 
communication of sanctifying grace. 
The breath of the Man- God which 
poured out the Spirit upon the apostles, 
descends with the same power wherever 
that commission extends. Else would 
the priesthood fail, and with it the 
gospel of salvation. "Go ye unto all 
lands, teaching all nations to observe 
whatsoever I have commanded you : 
baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. And behold, I am with you all 
days, even to the consummation of the 
world." f In all days, then, must be 
found, in its mission on earth, the apos- 
tolic priesthood ; Peter, whose faith never 
falters, and the bishops appointed to 

* Eph. i. 13. i St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 30. 



142 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

rule the flock of Christ, who succeed 
by "the laying on of hands," and live 
by the same breath as that which gave 
priestly power to the apostles. Genera- 
tion after generation passes away, but 
the truth of God abides ; and anointed 
hands are stretched out to the weak 
and wandering, to bring them home 
where light and peace are unfailing. 
This is the priesthood " which is made, 
not, like that of the Old Law, accord- 
ing to a carnal commandment, but ac- 
cording to the power of an indissoluble 
life."* 

3. There is still another fountain of 
the church's sanctity, and it is the 
nearest and dearest of all. It is the 
very fulness of the Spirit's power. It 
is all that God can do. There is a sa- 
crament which not only conveys grace, 
but the Author of grace Himself; which 
not only unites the children of the 

* Heb. vii. 16. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 143 

fallen Adam to the living humanity of 
the Word made flesh, but gives that 
very humanity to us to be our food. 
Here the spiritual life of the church is 
nourished by the flesh and blood of its 
Head and Redeemer. Can there be ere- 
ated holiness more wonderful than this ? 
It is the merciful plan of God to feed 
the new-born with this living bread, of 
which the manna from heaven was only 
a type. "I am the bread of life," said 
our Lord. "I am the living bread 
which came down from heaven. This 
bread is my flesh which I will give for 
the life of the world. Except you eat 
the flesh and drink the blood of the Son 
of man, you shall not have life in you. 
He that eateth my flesh and drinketh 
my blood hath everlasting life. As the 
living Father hath sent me, and I live 
by the Father, so he that eateth s me, 
the same also shall live by me." * 

* St. John vi. 48-58. 



144 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

Here are the sources of life, the Victim 
of the sacrifice which takes away all 
sin, and the Body which hallows and 
makes immortal him that feeds upon it. 
Here is the sacrament in which the 
mightiest power of the Holy Ghost is 
shown, where the creating words of the 
God-Man, spoken by His priests in the 
power of the Spirit, change the bread 
and wine into the Body and Blood of 
Jesus Christ. This is that divine rite 
which the Lord commanded to be per- 
petually celebrated in memory of Him- 
self ; the meaning of which the Apostle of 
the Gentiles received from His glorified 
mouth: " The chalice of benediction 
which we bless, is it not the commu- 
nion of the Blood of Christ? And the 
Bread which we break, is it not the 
partaking of the Body of the Lord?" * 
Over this great sacrifice and sacrament 
the Holy Ghost presides, even as by 

* 1 Cor. x. 16. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 145 

His energy the sacred Humanity was first 
conceived in the womb of the Virgin. 
His outstretched wings are above the 
altar, even as they appeared at the bap- 
tism of Jordan. There is no more won- 
derful prayer than this which He in- 
spires and answers : " Come, O almighty 
and eternal God, the sanctifier ! and bless 
this sacrifice prepared for Thy holy 
name." "The Creator sets Himself be- 
fore the work of His hands, to be par- 
taken of ; the Self -existent gives himself 
to* mortals for food and drink. ' Come, 
eat my bread,' is His invitation, 'and 
drink the wine I have prepared for you. 
I have prepared myself for food, I have 
mingled myself for those that desire 
m?.' " * 

In this view of the work of the Holy 
Spirit in the Catholic Church we be- 
hold the glories of the new creation, 
the redemption of our race by union 

* St. Cyril Alex., Horn, in Mystic. CoBiiam. 



146 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

to the life of Jesus Christ, and the 
temple of grace which, tilled with God, 
is the home of the regenerate. Our re- 
demption is already wrought. The water 
and the Blood have already flowed, and, 
with the eternal Spirit, are giving their 
testimony. They will never cease to 
speak on earth ; and their voice ascends 
before the throne, where it is mingled 
with the witness of Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost. How blessed is the place 
where the Paraclete abides, the Spirit 
of all good, the bountiful source of all 
life! " Behold, the tabernacle of God is 
with men, and He will dwell with them. 
And they shall be His people, and God 
Himself with them shall be their God." 
church of the living God, bride and 
spouse of Jesus Christ, home of the 
Holy Ghost, how dear art thou to the 
eternal Son ! Thou art the love of His 
heart ; thou art the reward of His toil ; 
thou art made white in His blood ; 



THE DIVINE PAFvACLETE. 147 

thou art nourished by His flesh. Thou 
art now putting on thy linen clean and 
white, the sanctifications of the saints. 
Thou art being prepared for the com- 
ing nuptials when thou shalt return to 
the open side from which thou wast 
taken, and there abide in one eternal 
embrace. There "the first heaven and the 
first earth shall have passed away. 
Even the sea shall be no more. The 
new heaven and the new earth shall ap- . 
pear in glory. The new Jerusalem shall 
come down from God, prepared as a bride 
adorned for her husband." * 



* Apoc. xxi. 1, 2 



Sermon IV. 



THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST IN THE INDIVIDUAL 
BELIEVER. 



" I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and 
the end. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that hear- 
eth, let him say, Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come. And 
he that will, let him come and take the water of life, freely."— Apo- 
calypse xxii. 13, 17. 

Having seen the office of the blessed 
Spirit in the church which He sanctifies, 
we come in this concluding sermon to 
consider the gracious fruits of His pre- 
sence in the individual members of the 
body of Christ. This view of the gifts 
which He has poured out upon us of 
His fulness, will still more excite our 
hearts to adoring love and active grati- 
tude. As God is ever His own end, so 

when, by condescending mercy, He comes 

148 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE,. 149 

to us, He lifts us to Himself, and bears 
our affections and our intellects towards 
the infinite fountain of life and love. By 
the Holy Ghost we move towards God ; 
by Him we know the Father and the 
Son, and by His light behold the un- 
created glory. It is "the Spirit who 
helpeth our infirmity. It is the Spirit 
Himself who asketh for us with un- 
speakable groanings. And He who 
searcheth the hearts, knoweth what the 
Spirit desireth, because He asketh for the 
saints according to God." * The Chris- 
tian life is all of God, and all in God. 
Even though to mortal eyes we bear 
the likeness of death and corruption, 
yet are we the tabernacles of the Most 
Holy ; and when the world of shadows 
passes away, our true life shall appear. 
Faith is far more certain and real thg,n 
sense. It is "the substance of things 
to be hoped for; the evidence of things 

*Bom. viii. 26, 27. 



150 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

that appear not." * We then turn to 
the Life of our souls, the divine Guest 
within us, the Paraclete in whose con- 
solations we rejoice, and beg of Him to 
teach us how to speak of His mighty 
work. He will inspire our minds and 
unloose our tongues, that we may tell 
of the fruits of His indwelling, and the 
magnificence of the home which He hal- 
lows. So our song of praise shall as- 
cend to Him by whose breath we live, 
and through Him to the throne of the 
Trinity. The filial cry goes up to the 
great heart of the Father: "We are 
now the sons of God ; and it hath not 
yet appeared what we shall be. But we 
know that, when He shall appear, we 
shall be like to Him, because we shall see 
Him as He is." f "Led by the Spirit 
of God, we are the sons of God. And 
we have received the Spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry: Abba, Father.":}: 

* Heb. xi. 1. 1 1 St. John iii. 2. % Rom. viii. 14, 15. 



THE DIVIDE PAEACLETE. 151 

The fruits of the Holy Ghost in us, 
who are the members of Christ's body, 
are as many and wonderful, as the at- 
tributes of their source can convey to 
created intelligences. No human mind 
can span them in their length and 
breadth. IsTo earthly tongue can speak 
worthily of operations which are all 
divine. Star from star differeth in glo- 
ry ; and the world of the Spirit is filled 
with the proofs of His immensity. Yet 
here we have in view the economy of 
salvation, and the sphere of grace, by 
which the sufficient merits of Christ are 
made effectual. All who would be saved 
must pass this way, enter by this door, 
and, in the adoption of the Holy Ghost, 
be washed in the water and the blood 
of the cross. There is no other entrance 
into the kingdom of heaven. "I am 
the door. By me if any man enter in, 
he shall be saved." * We shall, then, 

* St. John x. 9. 



152 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

speak of the ordinary gifts of grace 
which belong to all who are one with 
Christ through the Spirit, the fruits 
which must be seen in all who are 
sanctified. 

The Holy Ghost comes to abide in 
them, as the true life of their regene- 
rate nature. 

They are closely united to Jesus 
Christ, their head, and form one body 
with Him. 

The redemption is complete in both 
soul and body, and while the body 
receives the full fruits of the Spirit's 
indwelling, according to its nature ; the 
soul, in its simplicity and immateriality 
comes into close union with the divine 
being, and puts on the likeness of God, 
who is within it. 

From this • real participation of the 
Spirit come the glorification of the re- 
deemed, and the bliss of heaven. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 153 



L 

The Holy Ghost comes to abide in 
the believer, as the true life of his re- 
generate nature. 

If the church be the temple of God 
by reason of the Holy Spirit dwelling 
within her, then by necessity all who 
are her members are likewise the ta- 
bernacles of the Holy Ghost. As we 
have seen, in a preceding discourse, it- 
is by the agency of the Spirit that in- 
dividual men are made members of the 
one body. No earthly power could ad- 
mit them to union with a divine organi- 
zation. God must act, and by a special 
exercise of His influence, in order 
that those, who are by nature sinful 
and His enemies, may be made par- 
takers in a society which is the aggre- 
gation of those whom He adopts as 
His children. While this is self-evident 
when the necessary divine character of 



154 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 

the church is admitted, the plain words 
of Holy Scripture teach it to us: u In 
one Spirit were we all baptized into one 
body, in whom we have all been made 
to drink," * that by the divine opera- 
tion we might be quickened to a new 
and spiritual life. So we were " born 
again of water and the Holy Ghost, 
that we might enter the kingdom of 
God,"f which on earth is the church. 
Thus spoke St. Peter on the day of 
Pentecost: " Do penance, and be bap- 
tized every one of you in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of 
your sins ; and you shall receive the 
gift of the Holy Ghost." % If the 
church be the dwelling of the Spirit, 
then all who are its members are like- 
wise the temples of God. 4 6 Know you 
not," says St. Paul, "that you are the 
temple of God, and that the Spirit of 
God dwelleth in you ? If any man vio- 

* 1 Cor. xii. 13. t St. John iii. 5. % Acts ii. 38. 



THE DIVIDE PAEACLETE. 155 

late the temple of God : him shall God 
destroy. For the temple of God is ho- 
ly ; which you are." * This indwelling 
of the Holy Ghost in the just is the 
glory of the new law, and the peculiar 
fruit of the mission of the Paraclete on 
earth. From it results the communica- 
tion of the divine nature according to the 
words of the apostle. f The formal par- 
ticipation of the divine nature may be 
understood as an assimilation to God 
by grace infused, as the effect of the 
indwelling of the Spirit. Relatively, 
however, it is a real union with the 
divine Person who dwells within us. 
There are the supernatural gifts which 
flow from His presence ; and also, by 
the power of sanctifying grace, the Holy 
Ghost Himself is communicated, and in 
a special manner united, with the just. 
Thus oar Lord declares that He will 
"send another Paraclete, that He may 

* 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. t 2 St. Peter i. 4. 



156 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

abide with us for ever ; the Spirit of 
truth, whom the world cannot receive, 
because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth 
Him. But you shall know Him, because 
He shall abide with you and shall be 
in you."* "This dwelling of the Spirit 
in our souls is such that, as a divine 
Person, He makes an abode with us 
as a lover in the loved and loving ; 
as the protector and giver of all spirit- 
ual gifts ; as the Spirit of adoption in 
the sons of God; as the cause and 
fountain of the supernatural life; as 
the seal and earnest of the promised 
full and beatific possession of God ; as 
God in a rational temple consecrated to 
Himself, according to the whole nature 
of man.-' f This presence of the eternal 
Spirit is distinct from His gifts, as He 
is a divine Person in Himself, and as 
the author is distinguished from the 

* St. John xiv. 16, 17. 

t Card. Franzelin, Tract De Mssione S. Sancii. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 157 

effects He produces. This indwelling 
and abiding of Cfod in His creature 
does not, then, simply signify His pre- 
sence, but a special relation and union 
of tlie divine being with the crea- 
ture. Omnipresence follows directly 
from the immensity of Deity ; but this 
indwelling is from love freely exercised 
towards us. 

Thus the just by this sanctification 
become the temples of the Holy Trinity, 
and are consecrated in the Spirit to the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
So the Spirit, proceeding from the Fa- 
ther and the Son, brings the regenerate 
creature back to the Triune Creator in 
whose likeness it was made. "If any 
one love me," said our Lord, "my 
Father will love him, and we will 
come to him and make our abode with 
him." * And the apostle tells us that 
we are united to the church, that we 

* St. John xiv. 23. 



1£8 THE DIVIDE PAKACLETE. 

may become "a holy temple in Christ, 
and the habitation of God in the Spi- 
rit." * For though the distinction of 
personality be perfect, yet, as the Es- 
sence is one ; where the Father is, there 
are His consubstantial Son, and His co- 
equal Spirit. This completes the mys- 
terious consecration, and makes the 
renewed an'd new-created soul the home 
of God most high, in grace, in love, in 
all the prodigality of His beneficence. 

The end for which the blessed Spirit 
abides in us is to give and sustain in 
us the supernatural life. His coming 
gives that life which will endure as 
long as He remain in us. The new 
birth is the first fruit of His union 
with the soul ; and the kingdom of hea- 
ven is opened, that the new man may 
enter in and "be renewed unto know- 
ledge according to the image of Him 
that created him." f "The seal of the 

* Ephes. ii. 22. tCol. iii. 10. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 159 

Holy Spirit of promise is the pledge 
of our inheritance," and in His safe- 
keeping we put on immortality, and the 
image of the earthly gives place to the 
likeness of the heavenly, as long as we 
grieve not this divine guest, "by whom 
we are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
tion." * Thus are we truly made the 
sons of God, u not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but born of God ; and the Para- 
clete Himself giveth testimony to our 
souls that we are delivered from the 
law of sin and death." "We are not in 
the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit 
of God dwell in us." f As all the gifts 
of the natural order are contained in the 
natural life as their principle ; so all the 
greater glories of the new and super- 
natural life are contained in the presence 
and personal action of the Holy Ghost. 
He is the mighty God whose immen- 

* Ephes. i 13, 14 ; iv. 30. t Rom. viii. 9. 



160 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

sity fills the universe. He is within us 
by the special movement of love, and 
that love is necessarily productive. It 
cannot rest idle. It must bear and be 
borne to its source. The creature awakes 
to the divine life communicated, and 
the touch of Deity is prolific, and be- 
fore its illumined eyes Appear the new' 
heavens and the new earth. " Old 
things are passed away. Behold all 
things are made new. ? ' * 

II. 

The members of the church are close- 
ly united to Jesus Christ, their head, 
and form one body with Him. 

The Holy Scriptures distinctly teach 
that the church is the body of Christ ; 
and the preceding discourses have placed 
this in manifest light. The whole cha- 
racter of the church depends upon its 

*2Cor. v. 17. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. IGl 

union with God. But this union, as we 
have seen, is by the Holy Spirit in the 
humanity of our Lord. Not in figure but 
in reality are we joined to the quicken- 
ing flesh of the Son of God ; and this 
union is life-giving. The believer be- 
comes the child of God by union to the 
Redeemer, who is* the Son by nature. 
He could not touch the Godhead, except 
through the humanity of the Word ; but 
in that humanity, by the breath of the 
Spirit, he is fully reconciled to God, and, 
if he be faithful, he will be fully sancti- 
fied. Thus, as the church, the aggrega 
tion of believers, is the body of Christ, 
by vital participation of the flesh of its 
Head, so the members are closely united 
to the Word incarnate, and form one 
mystical body with Him. This could not 
be without the renewing grace of the 
Spirit, since the old Adam in his natural 
state could never be joined to the second 
Adam, the Lord from heaven. The Holy 



162 THE DIVHSTE PARACLETE. 

Ghost quickens that which is lifeless and 
lost, breathes into it a supernatural vitali- 
ty, and unites it to the living members 
of the triumphant Word in heaven. 
" Both He that sanctifieth and they who 
are sanctified are all of one, For which 
cause He is not ashamed to call them bre- 
thren." * This is the 'wonderful plan of 
grace, by which "all things are to be re- 
established in Christ." "And God, who 
is rich in mercy, for His exceeding chari- 
ty wherewith He loved us, even when we 
were dead in sins, hath quickened us to- 
gether in Christ, and hath raised us up 
together, and made us sit together in the 
heavenly places. For we are His work- 
manship, created in Christ Jesus, in good 
works." f "When we were dead in our 
sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh, 
He quickened us together with Him, 
burying us with Him in baptism." % 
"For we were buried together with Him 

* Heb. ii. 11. tEphes. ii. 4-7 ; i. 10. $ Col. ii. 12, 13. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 163 

by baptism into death, that the likeness 
of His resurrection might be produced 
in us." * This likeness is real and true; 
it is the cause of our justification, as the 
apostle argues. "In Him dwelleth all 
the fulness of the Godhead, corporally." 
Who can doubt this truth when the 
mystery of the incarnation presents the 
humanity in hypostatic union with the 
divine nature in the person of the Son ? 
But "we are filled in Him" who is by 
nature and by mission "the head of all 
principality and power." f Then in our 
turn we partake of His divine nature, 
according to our capacity and need, and 
so become " one body with Him." " Now 
you are the body of Christ, and members 
of member" ; "and as the human body 
is one, though it have many members, so 
also is Christ." $ "Because I live," said 
our Lord, "you also shall live." § And 
this life is as real as is the life of God, 

* Rom. vi. 4. t Col. ii. 9, 10. $ 1 Cor. xii. 12, 27. § St. John xiv. 19. 



164 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



and it is by the direct partaking of the 
humanity of Christ. "As the living Fa- 
ther hath sent me, and I lire by the Fa- 
ther, so he that eateth me shall live by 
rne. He that eateth my flesh and drink- 
eth my blood hath everlasting life." * 
So in this blessed union to God the 
apostle exults, and joyfully exclaims : 
"I live; now not I, but Christ liveth in 
me." f Such is the glory of the dispen- 
sation of the Spirit, and they who know 
it not, have not begun to understand the 
richness of redeeming love. Man was 
made for God, and cannot rest out of 
God. All created things, however at- 
tracting, can never satisfy his soul, 
whose aspirations take hold of the Infi- 
nite. Fallen as he is, he must find his 
Maker and be united with Him, or be 
eternally wrecked. So, in the immense 
pity of the Trinity, God and man are 
made one in the person of the Word. 

* St. John vi. 55, 58. t Gal. iL 20. 



THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 165 

That is a hypostatic union which, makes 
the Word flesh, and God man. But this 
so wonderful condescension would not 
avail us, unless the humanity touch and 
enliven our dying nature. The arms of 
the Man-God must more than embrace 
us ; their touch must produce likeness 
and impart an union. That union can- 
not be like that by which the Godhead 
and the manhood are made one in unity 
of person. But though not the hypo- 
static union, which belongs to the Word 
alone, it is nevertheless a true union by 
participation, through which the glories 
and the gifts of the incarnation flow 
down to all the regenerate. They live, 
and they only live, for God is life ; but 
it is Christ who liveth in them, and their 
vitality is really that of the Son of God. 
Thus they have part in the present and 
future of Christ's humanity. u They are 
Christ's ; and Christ is God's." * Where 

* 1 Cor. iii. 23. 



166 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

He is they shall be, for His life shall 
bear them to its eternal home. As light 
speeds from its source, and never leaves 
its fountain, so life comes from God and 
returns to God. If we may so speak, 
the Word comes to the desolate earth 
alone, and, as the light shines in the 
darkness. He beholds the dreary solitude 
which sin had made of Paradise. The 
treasures of His heart, His immaculate 
Mother, and the Holy Family are out in 
the storm of the world's wild malice. A 
manger was His cradle, and a cross His 
dying-bed. The sun hid his face and 
the earth quaked when the sepulchre 
opened, and death touched the Lord of 
life. But not alone did He return to 
the right hand of His Father. Captivity 
He led captive ; death He chained to 
His triumphal car ; the struggling Word 
hath taken to Himself many members. 
Flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, 
they are to ascend with Him when, be- 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 167 

fore the face of the Trinity, His glad voice 
proclaims : "Behold me, and my children 
whom Thou hast given Me ! " * 

III. 

The redemption of Christ is therefore . 
complete in both body and soul. The 
body receives the full fruits of the Spi- 
rit's indwelling, according to its nature; 
and the soul comes into close union with 
God and participation of Him. 

1. We have already demonstrated from 
Holy Scripture, and the Christian Fa- 
thers, that the body of the believer is 
the subject of redemption. It is evident 
that the economy of grace respects the 
whole man, who is constituted of body 
and soul, and would not be redeemed, if 
the soul alone were the recipient of mer- 
cy. But it is manifest, also, that the 
Holy Ghost comes to dwell in our bod- 

* Heb. ii. 13. 



168 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

ies, by virtue of their regeneration, and 
that, consequently, they partake of the 
fruits of His presence. They are sanc- 
tified ; they are made fit companions of 
the renewed soul ; and they are quicken- 
ed to incorruption and immortality, that 
in glory they may have their share in 
the felicity which shall crown the just. 

"Know you not that your members 
are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who 
is in you, whom you have from God, 
and you are not your own? Glorify 
and bear God in your body." "You 
are the temple of God, and the Spirit 
of God dwelleth in you. The temple of 
God is holy, which you are." * "You 
are the temple of the living God, as 
God saith, 'I will dwell in them, and 
walk among them.' " f So in holy Bap- 
tism the body is touched with the re- 
generating water, in the sacred Name, 
and the whole man is born again of the 

* 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17 ; vi. 19, 20. t 2 Cor. vi. 16 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 169 

Holy Ghost. It is not simply in tlie 
soul that the Spirit dwells. He also 
abides in our bodies, that he may quick- 
en and hallow them. We draw near to 
God in fulness of faith, and our hearts 
are not only sprinkled from an evil con- 
science, but our bodies also are washed 
with clean water." * 

This is even a necessity to the com- 
pleteness of our justification. In our 
natural state the soul, in the condition 
of condemnation, informs a corrupt body 
which has no part with Christ. There is 
the burden of the past by inheritance, 
and by actual transgression. There is 
the future, with its fears of judgment 
and punishment. But by nature there 
is no hope of delivery from death, which 
reigns over all the children naturally 
born of Adam. When, however, the su- 
pernatural life is communicated, and the 
soul awakes in the strength of its 

* Heb. x. 22. 



170 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

second birth, to put on Christ and bear 
His likeness, it is quickened to animate 
a body which shall likewise be delivered 
from death, and filled with the promise 
of immortality. Else would the bond of 
sympathy be broken between soul and 
body. How could one be in light, and 
the other in darkness ; the one the mem- 
ber of Christ, the other the child of the 
devil ? Thus, as redemption comes to the 
race of man, all the sacraments touch 
the body, and through its instrumentali- 
ty the soul ; since they are the external 
signs of grace which they convey. The 
individual man redeemed represents the 
one church and the one Christ. He is 
the temple of the Holy Ghost, and, in 
unity as is the Church, the omnipotence 
of the Paraclete is his. He is joined to 
the glorified humanity of the Redeemer, 
and rejoices in all its gifts. 

The resurrection of the just is the ne 
cessary consequence of this sanctificatioi) 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 171 

if the body. In the presence of the Spi- 
rit there is life. In participation of the 
flesh and blood of the incarnate God 
there is victory over the law of decay. 
" If the Spirit of Him, that raised up Je- 
sus from the dead, dwell in you ; He that 
raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, 
shall quicken also your mortal bodies, 
because of His Spirit that dwelleth in 
you." * "The expectation of the crea- 
ture waiteth for the ' revelation of the 
sons of God ; waiteth for the adoption, 
the full redemption of our body." f 
"He that hath the Son, hath life," and 
"He that eateth my flesh and drink- 
eth my blood, hath everlasting life ; and 
I will raise him up at the last day." $ 
The resurrection of the body shall be 
the fruit of its sanctification, the con- 
sequence of its union with the living 
body of Christ. Quickened here by the 
breath of the Spirit, hallowed as His 

* Rom. viii. 11. t Ibid. viii. 19, 23. $ St. John vi. 55. 



172 THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 



temple, made immortal by the huiftanity 
of its Head, it but sleeps in the grave 
to awake, when the voice of its Lord 
shall call, in new vigor, in the gifts of 
glory which shall appear in the dawn- 
ing of life eternal. On that glad morn- 
ing the Spirit shall illumine His whole 
temple, and the hands of the Word 
made flesh claim their ow r n. 

2. In its simplicity and immateriality, 
the soul communes directly with the di- 
vine Spirit, and the process of its sanc- 
tification goes on in perfect accordance 
with the freedom of the will. Let us 
glance for a moment at the new birth, 
the infusion of virtues by sanctifying 
grace, and the participation of the di- 
vine nature in the intimate union of the 
soul with God. 

The new birth of the soul by the 
agency of the Holy Ghost is all that the 
term signifies, and even more. It is 
paralleled with the first or natural birth. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



173 



As this birth gives life and the enjoy- 
ment of faculties not possessed before, 
so is it with regeneration. Here, too, is 
given a new life ; and although the en- 
tity of the man be not changed, yet he 
is really a different being. In the words 
of Scripture, he is a "new creature." 
His life which comes from the Holy 
Ghost is supernatural ; and this gives 
him powers which he had not by nature. 
He is translated to a higher plane of 
action, and no longer is merely of this 
world. He lives for God and eternity. 
The gift of sanctifying grace makes him 
truly the child of God by adoption, 
through this new and ineffable nativity ; 
and with this adoption is established 
the most perfect friendship between him 
and his Redeemer. He becomes truly 
just, his sins are remitted, and habitual 
grace is infused into his soul and re- 
mains with it. Justification conferred by 
baptism, as its instrumental cause, im- 



174 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

plies not only the remission of sin, but 
also the internal renovation and sancti- 
lication of man by grace. 

So says St. Basil: "As that which is 
born according to the flesh is such as 
that from which it is born ; so when 
we are born of the Spirit, we are made 
spirit, not according to the immense and 
humanly incomprehensible glory of the 
Holy Ghost, but according to that glory 
which is seen in the participation of His 
gifts." "Even as iron immersed in fire 
is not only purified, but becomes in it- 
self more splendid and glowing ; so the 
soul by baptism is not only purged of 
the stains of sin, but is also decorated 
and. perfected by the grace of justifica- 
tion. 5 ' "These three effects, according 
to St. Thomas, are attributed to holy 
baptism. By it we are incorporated in- 
to Christ, illumined and made fruitful. 
Although by faith and grace man be- 
comes a spiritual member of Christ, 



THE DIVINE PABACLETE. 175 

yet by this visible sacrament he is 
corporally and visibly incorporated with 
Him, as he becomes a member of the 
visible church, and is made capable of 
receiving the influx which comes from 
its head, Jesus Christ, by sensible sac- 
raments. Secondly, illumination is at- 
tributed to baptism, as it is the sacra- 
ment of faith, and the special profes- 
sion of it. Thirdly, fruitfulness comes 
* from the virtues infused, from which 
good works proceed. And this is not 
only from the habits infused by the 
Spirit, but also because God specially 
prepares the heart of the baptized to 
receive and improve the doctrine of 
truth.' 5 * 

The gifts of the Holy Ghost to the 
soul are distinct from Himself, and are 
infused with sanctifying grace. By these 
gifts the renovation of man is completed, 
and they are, as it were, the new habits 

* Suarez, qusest. Ixix. art. v. 



176 THE DIVIJSTE PAEACLETE. 

or faculties of the regenerate life. They 
are abiding in the soul, and can only be 
lost by ultimate rejection of the Spirit 
and all His graces. They are distin- 
guished from the acts which they pro- 
duce ; and they impart not only the 
facility but the power of performing 
truly good works. God alone, in His 
beneficence, is the efficient cause of these 
supernatural virtues, which neverthe- 
less increase intrinsically, as the just 
increase in the sanctity they have re- 
ceived. And so intimate is the connec- 
tion of sanctifying grace with these 
virtues that, with the growth of 
this grace, all the virtues infused 
increase together ; and no virtue can 
increase, unless at the same time 
grace becomes more intense. In these 
powers of the sanctified soul we be- 
hold the fruit of the Spirit, and the 
true life of the new creation. Faith, 
hope, and love, as the theological vir- 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 177 

tues which directly respect God, are the 
foundation of the spiritual activity 
which marks the justified. The moral 
virtues flowing also from the same divine 
source make up the completeness of the 
man new-born, and formed after the 
image of Jesus Christ. Faith is the 
spiritual eye of the soul, by w T hich it 
sees the things revealed by God. It is 
"the substance of things hoped for, the 
evidence of things that appear not." 
Its material object is the truth revealed, 
and its formal object is the authority 
of God revealing. To its exercise the 
grace of the Holy Ghost is necessary, 
and the divine Paraclete, coming to the 
soul, illumines His entrance by this gift, 
which enables it to see and recognize 
the action of God in the work of re- 
demption. 

Hope, also infused by the same Spirit, 
is that virtue by which, with certain con- 
fidence, we expect from God eternal bliss 



178 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

in the enjoyment of Him, and all the 
means necessary to obtain it, according 
to the veracity of His promises. He 
who inspires this hope can never fail, 
and the child looks up to its eternal 
Father with the most perfect filial trust. 
As he is a son, "he is also an heir 
of God, and joint heir with Christ." * 
This hope is the sure bond which unites 
the present to the future ; our God seen 
and known by faith during our pilgrim- 
age, with the beatific vision by which 
we shall behold Him in glory as He is. 
Nothing but the loss of the Holy Ghost 
can put out this light, which cheers 
and illumines our path to life eternal. 

By love, the justified move towards 
their supreme end with all the affection 
of their hearts. This is the virtue di- 
vinely infused by which we love God 
in Himself, and, as it were, appreciate 
His infinite goodness. It is a created 

* Rom. viii. 17. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 179 

gift, wholly supernatural, by which we 
are able to elicit the acts of the loving 
mind and adoring heart. It is the true 
and proper friendship of the soul with 
God. It is one and the same super- 
natural habit here, and in the land of 
promise ; in our exile on earth, and in 
the fruition of heaven. It is the most 
excellent of all virtues, as it directly re- 
spects the divine goodness in itself, and 
more closely touches God. The motive 
of faith and hope is indeed the divine 
goodness as it comes from its source to 
us His creatures ; either the knowledge 
of the truth revealed by Him, or the 
possession of reward through His pro- 
mises. But charity sees the incommuni- 
cable beauty in itself, the attraction of 
the perfections which are the attributes 
of Deity. Through all gifts and all 
hopes, it flies to the very heart of God 
Himself, and sees Him alone. So faith 
and hope are informed by love as their 



ISO THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

principle, and love casts out all sin and 
all the power of evil. "God is charity; 
and lie that abideth in charity, abideth 
in God, and God in him. Fear is not 
in charity ; but perfect charity casteth 
out fear." * 14 Lore, therefore," says 
the apostle, u is the fulfilling of the 
law," f an( i " the bond of perfec- 
tion," X an( i " the end of the com- 
mandments/' § Love, informing faith 
and hope, bears the regenerate to the 
bosom of God; it cannot rest till the 
infinite object of its attraction be pos- 
sessed. The strength, and beauty, and 
glory of the supernatural life are all 
from love. Here God meets man in the 
embrace which quickens and sanctifies, 
in the Incarnate Son, by the Spirit. 
"The charity of God is poured forth 
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who 
is given to us." || 



* 1 St. John iv. 16, 18. t Rom. xiii. 10. % Col. iii. 14. 
§ 1 St. Tim. i. 5. I! Eom. v. 5. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 181 

The sanctification of the soul is thus 
accomplished by the supernatural gifts 
of created grace, which inheres in it and 
in all its faculties, elevating it to a 
higher" mode of being and state of ac- 
tion ; so that the rational creature by 
these gifts puts on the likeness of the 
divine nature and participates in its 
life. And this likeness is above all the 
forces of things created, even the powers 
of human or angelic nature. For by 
the strength of sanctifying grace the 
person of the Holy Ghost is communi- 
cated, and in a special manner joined 
with the just. "The Paraclete shall re- 
main with you for ever." u He is witli 
you, and shall be in you." * From this 
presence comes "the partaking of the 
divine nature," f of which the Holy 
Scripture speaks. This supreme felicity 
of the just consists in the intimate 
union with God, which implies the pos- 

* St. John xiv. 16. t 2 St. Peter i. 4. 



182 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

session of Him as far as is possible to 
His nature and ours. Secondly, it sig- 
nifies the participation of His goods. 
Every created thing, in a certain sense, 
partakes of the divine being, as He is 
its exemplary and efficient cause ; and, 
having its origin from Him by crea- 
tion, is to that extent an adumbration 
of His perfection. But the revelation 
through Christ manifests to us a parti- 
cipation of God above all the dignity 
and needs of things created. This par- 
ticipation is a perfect assimilation to 
the divine nature itself by sanctifying 
grace, which acts upon the soul, and as 
a supernatural quality transforms it. 
This is a formal " partaking of the di- 
vine nature" by assimilation to it, and 
also an intimate union with the sub- 
stance of God. Deification, says Dio- 
nysius, is assimilation and union with 
God as far as is possible. In both these 
senses are we "partakers of the divine 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 183 

nature." This is the " communication 
of the Holy Ghost," * by which u we 
are illuminated, by which we tasted 
the heavenly gift, the good word of 
God, and the powers of the world to 
come, and were made partakers of the 
Holy Spirit." f A more distinct de- 
claration is given by St. Paul when he 
says that as the face of Moses was illu- 
mined with uncreated splendor from his 
converse with God, so we are trans- 
formed by the Holy Spirit into the di- 
vine image. "We all, beholding the 
glory of the Lord with open face, are 
transformed into the same image, from 
glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the 
Lord." X "When He shall appear we 
shall be like Him, since we shall see 
Him as He is," § and then our divine 
sonship, which doth not now appear, 
shall be made manifest. 
To this is lastly to be added the bless- 

* 2 Cor. xiii. 13. t Hebrews vi. 4, 5. $ 2 Cor. iii. 18. § 1 St. John iii. 2. 



184 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

ed truth, that all tile saints, as we have 
already explained, are really in union 
with God, and in Him with each other ; 
as the principle of their union is the one 
divine nature of the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost, dwelling in the faith- 
ful and living members of Christ.* 
Thus is the great prayer of the Mediator 
fulfilled, " that they may all be one, as 
Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee ; that 
they may also be one in us. And the 
glory which Thou hast given me, I have 
given to them ; that they may be one, as 
we also are one : I in them, and Thou 
in me, that they may be made perfect 
in One."f The faithful, therefore, and 
the just are partakers in the divine 
nature, not essentially nor personally, 
but partly accidentally and partly sub- 
stantially. Sanctifying grace is the gift 
of God infused into the soul, by which 

* Franzelin, sec. iv. Be Missions S. Spiritus. 
t St. John xvii. 21-23. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 1S5 

proximately, and to the highest degree 
possible, we partake of the divine na- 
ture. For grace is a thing so noble 
and sublime that it surpasses the nature 
of all angels and men ; and there is no 
created substance to which grace is con- 
natural, since it partakes of the divinity 
in that very point in which it trans- 
cends all created things and all nature. 
From this fountain flow seven most no- 
ble effects and dignities which grace 
confers upon the soul. First, it expels 
all mortal sin. Secondly, it renders a 
man acceptable to God, so that, as St. 
Thomas teaches, there is a true friend- 
ship between God and the just. All 
the conditions of friendship are found 
in the charity by which man becomes 
the friend of God. Thirdly, grace 
makes us upright and holy, so that 
the will, the mind, and all its powers 
are subdued to the divine law, until we 
become like unto God ; as Adam, our 



186 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

first father, who was created in the state 
of innocence. To this end are the 
words of the apostle to the Ephesians : 
"Put on the new man, who, according 
to God, is created in justice and holi- 
ness of truth." * 

Fourthly, the just man becomes the 
son and heir of God. "The Father 
hath made ns worthy to be partakers 
of the saints in light : who hath deli- 
vered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the king- 
dom of the Son of His love."f 

Fifthly, grace brings with it all the 
theological and moral virtues, prudence, 
justice, fortitude, temperance, and also 
the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost 
which the prophet Isaias saw resting 
upon Christ. "The Spirit of the Lord 
shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wis- 
dom and understanding, the Spirit of 
counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of 

*Ephes. iv. 24. t Coloss. i. 12. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 



187 



knowledge and godliness, and He shall 
be filled with the Spirit of the fear of 
the Lord."* 

Sixthly, grace is the seed of glory ; 
and as the tree and the fruit are pro- 
duced from the seed, so from grace 
come life eternal and the bliss of the 
just. Lastly, grace is the principle and 
the cause of good works which satisfy 
for past faults, and merit the increase 
of grace and glory. By grace, therefore, 
is man elevated to an order not angeli- 
cal but divine, and made the consort 
and partaker of the divinity ; for a 
greater participation of God than this, 
there cannot be. This partaking of the 
divine nature is not only accidentally 
by sanctifying grace, but even substan- 
tially by the communication of that 
nature in the adoption of sons and 
heirs. In this adoption the just are, 
in the language of the Fathers, deified. 

♦Isaias xi. 2, 3. 



188 THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 

Oar formal justification and adoption 
consist totally in the charity and grace 
given to us, and inhering in lis. With 
this charity is the Holy Ghost, who is 
the author of all. Adopting grace can- 
not be separated from the Holy Ghost, 
nor can the adoption of the Holy Ghost 
be separated from grace ; no more than 
the ray can be parted from the sun, or 
the sun from the ray. The blessed Spi- 
rit, by charity and grace, formally jus- 
tifies us, dwells in us, vivifies and 
adopts us. Inherent justice is not a 
simple quality, but it embraces many 
things: the remission of sin, faith, 
hope, charity, and other gifts, and the 
Holy Ghost Himself, the author of all 
good. For in oar justification not only 
are these great gifts communicated to 
us, but the very Person of the eternal 
Spirit is given, and consequently the 
whole Deity and the whole Trinity. 
ISTot only objectively, but really and 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 189 

personally, the Three divine Persons 
are present in the soul of the adopted 
son. Here God dwells substantially as 
in His temple ; here He unites Him- 
self to man, and, as it were, deifies him. 
This is the great condescension of the 
Trinity, as it is our unequalled dignity 
and consolation. From this communi- 
cation of the person and divinity of 
the Holy Ghost follow the supreme 
elevation and deification of the soul, 
in the most perfect adoption not only 
by grace, but by the divine substance.* 
"I have said, You are gods, and all of 
you the sons of the Most High." f So 
teaches the holy Council of Trent, that 
the formal cause of our justification is 
the justice of God, not that by which 
He is just, but that by which He 
makes us just, who receive the grace 
which the Spirit imparts to each one 
according to His will. " Recognize, O 

* See X Lapide, Com. on 2 St. Peter i. 2-4. t Psalm lxxxi. 6. 



190 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

Christian ! " says St. Leo, "thy dig- 
nity ; and made the partaker of the 
divine nature, return not to the vile- 
ness from which thou wast redeemed. 
Remember of whom thou art a mem- 
ber, that Christ is thy head, and that 
thou art joined to His body." "What 
greater honor can the adopted receive 
than to be where He is, who unites 
Himself to the loved, not the equal of 
His divinity, but associated to His 
eternity?"* Thus, in the fervent lan- 
guage of St. Bernard, the soul cries 
out: "What have I in heaven, and 
what besides Thee do I desire on earth % 
My flesh and my heart fail ; Thou art 
the God of my heart, and my portion 
for ever. Not bliss, nor glory, nor any 
gift which is not God, can satisfy the 
loving soul. He is its supreme rest and 
desire. Its constant prayer is that the 
King may open His chamber, and to 

* St. Augus., Tract li. in Joanncm. 



THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 191 

His repose prepare the way, that in 
Him and with. Him it may find feli- 
city. Hence, with open face looking 
with all its powers upon the glory 
of the celestial Spouse, it is trans- 
formed into the same image, from glo- 
ry to glory, as by the Spirit of the 
Lord. There shall it one day deserve 
to hear the glad accents of the Beloved : 
'Thou art all fair, my love, and there 
is no spot in thee.' It shall hear, and 
in its transport dare to cry out : ' My 
Beloved to me, and I to Him.' In this 
most blessed embrace, where heart an- 
swers to heart, the divine to the hu- 
man, shall the glorified child of God 
delight itself with its Spouse." 

IV. 

From the real participation of the 
Holy Spirit come the glorification of 
the redeemed, and the bliss of heaven. 



192 THE DIVIXE PAEACLETE. 

The glorification of the just is the 
end of all their hopes and desires. It 
is supreme beatitude in the possession 
of God. Here on earth, through the 
Spirit, and in the humanity of the 
Word, God is possessed and enjoyed. 
In this possession, according to our 
state, is the felicity of the redeemed ; 
even while they are on the way to their 
true home. The light grows brighter as 
creatures lose their attraction and earth 
recedes day by day in the distance. In 
the process of sanctification the near- 
ness of God becomes more real, and 
the power of His presence stronger. 
He becomes more fully our possession 
as we seek Him more purely, and cor- 
respond with His grace. "While the 
outward man decays, the inward man 
is renewed day by day." * "The path 
of the just, as a shining light, grow- 
eth brighter and brighter unto perfect 

* 2 Cor. iv. 16. 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 193 

day." * The indwelling Holy Ghost 
steadily guides us onward to the end. 
With divine patience and all-healing 
tenderness He leads us to the home of 
our sanctified nature, where our pos- 
session shall reveal itself in all its im- 
mensity, and God shall indeed, above 
every chance, be all and in all. This 
is our supreme beatitude. There is 
nothing more to be desired when God 
is fully ours. There shall be a fulness 
of all good, and a bliss so perfect that 
the soul shall overflow with unspeak- 
able joy. Even reason teaches us that 
the divine Being alone can be the rest 
and joy of our intelligent natures. He 
is the supreme end, to be loved and 
sought for Himself alone, and there- 
fore is He the objective beatitude of our 
souls. He is our first beginning, as well 
as last end ; so in Him alone, and in 
the possession of Him, can we find full 

* Prov. iv. 18. 



194 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

felicity. In heaven, where He reveals 
Himself, shall the just be glorified. 
There shall the} 7 awake in the rich- 
ness of their eternal life, and be filled 
with the glory of their new birth. 
There, where the river of life floweth, 
clear as crystal, from the throne of the 
Trinity, shall "they see the face of 
God, and His name shall be on their 
foreheads. The Lord shall enlighten 
them, and they shall reign for ever and 
ever." * The rainbow, like the gleam- 
ing of an emerald, is about the throne ; 
and the four-and-twenty ancients are 
seated, clothed in white garments, with 
crowns of gold upon their heads. 
Across the sea of glass the consuming 
fire flashes its splendor, and the seven 
lamps are ever burning, which are the 
seven spirits of God.f There the bless- 
ed Paraclete pours out, from the heart 
of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the 

* Apoc. xxii. 4, 5. t Apoc. iv. 4-6. 



THE DIVINE EARACLETE. 195 

gladness of His comfort. He lias borne 
His witness with the water and the 
blood; He has shown to the faithful 
soul the things of Christ ; now His 
consolations flow for ever from the in- 
finite bosom of the Trinity. To all 
eternity the tide of joy flows on, 
where there are no bounds to its cur- 
rent, where no shore can restrain its 
gushing waters. 

Thought fails us here, and language 
staggers in the sight of Him whom we 
are to know and enjoy. "Eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en- 
tered into the heart of man, what 
things God hath prepared for them that 
love Him." * In heaven, the true home 
of the justified, we shall, through the 
Spirit, find the full beatitude and glori- 
fication of body and soul. 

We have already seen how the bodies 
of the saints only sleep in the grave, 

* 1 Cor. ii. 9. 



196 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

awaiting the resurrection morning. They 
are in the keeping of the Spirit, who 
raised up Jesus Christ, their head ; and 
when the dawn shall come, they shall 
arise in glory. "Sown in corruption, 
they shall rise in incorruption. Sown in 
dishonor, they shall rise in glory. Sown 
in weakness, they shall rise in power. 
Sown natural bodies, they shall rise 
spiritual bodies."* "The resurrection of 
all men," says St. Thomas, "has some- 
thing of the likeness of Christ's resur- 
rection, as far as the life of nature, ac- 
cording to which all are like unto Him; 
but in the saints, who were conformed to 
Him by grace, shall appear the likeness of 
His glory. For as the soul of man shall 
be raised to the bliss of celestial spirits, 
that they may see God by His essence; 
so the body shall be ennobled by celes- 
tial properties, that it may be impassible, 
subtle, agile, and in its form most per- 

* 1 Cor. xv. 42-44. 



THE DIVINE PAEACLETE. 197 

feet. Thus the apostle calls the bodies 
of this resurrection celestial, not on ac- 
count of their nature, but because of 
their glory. For as the splendor to 
which the human soul shall be elevated, 
exceeds the natural virtue of celestial 
spirits, so the glory of the bodies raised 
from the grav^e exceeds the natural per- 
fection of celestial spirits ; since to them 
belong greater splendor, a more firm im- 
passibility, more wonderful agility, and 
a more perfect dignity of nature." These 
endowments of the glorified body spring 
from the beatified soul, not as effectively 
produced from the bliss of the soul in 
the body, but as in fitness and congru- 
ity with the glorification of the whole 
man, they are bestowed by God upon 
the body united to the soul in its felici- 
ty. Here the splendor of the sacred hu- 
manity shows itself in its members, and 
the likeness of Christ is produced in 
those who are made one with Him, and 



198 THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 

to be of His family for ever. "Whom 
He foreknew, He also predestinated to 
be made conformable to the image of^ 
His Son, that He might be the first-born 
among many brethren." * It is no small 
part of the felicity of the saints that, in 
their varied ranks, they shall wear the im- 
age of their Lord, and in face and form 
resemble the humanity enthroned in the 
brightness of the Godhead, the Word 
made flesh, whose name they bear in 
their foreheads. As the soul, enjoying 
the divine vision, is filled with a spirit- 
ual brightness, so the body shall par- 
take of this splendor, and in its depths, 
from sense to sense, and member to 
member, shall " shine like the sun in 
the kingdom of the Father, "f Over its 
eternal life corruption shall have no 
power, where neither defect can be felt, 
nor any evil draw nigh. "God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes, 

* Rom. viii. 29. t St. Matt. xiii. 43. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 199 

and death, shall be no more, and mourn- 
ing and sorrow shall for ever pass 
away." * Like the angels of God shall 
the glorified body move at the will of 
the spirit, and above the laws of nature, 
faster than the light, obey the motions of 
the beatified soul. And, subtle like the 
spirit, it puts on the endowments of the 
glorified soul, that in all things it may 
enjoy and, even in its sphere, exercise 
the soul's felicity. Thus is it truly a 
spiritual body, not, as St. Thomas clearly 
explains, because, it loses the attributes of 
matter and becomes a spiritual subtance, 
but because, with a wonderful facility 
of obedience to every motion, it is sub- 
dued to our spiritual nature, and made 
the organ of the soul which is joined 
to God. So says St. Augustine: " God 
has made the soul of so powerful a 
nature that from its full beatitude, which 
in the end of time is promised to the 

* Apoc. xxi. 4. 



200 THE DIYIXE PARACLETE. 

saints, bliss shall redound to the body, 
not that which is proper to the intelli- 
gence, but the fulness of life and the 
vigor of incorruption." 

The soul of the just, illumined with 
supernal light, shall see God immedi- 
ately and intuitively, gazing into His 
very essence; and in this blessed sight 
shall be filled with joy unspeakable. 
And w r hile the soul can nevev compre- 
hend the infinite on which it shall gaze ; 
yet the very infinitude of the attraction 
shall be the cause of its boundless happi- 
ness. In their different ranks of glory, 
according to their merits, shall the saints 
taste of this beatitude, in which man 
redeemed, sanctified, and glorified, shall 
find his full fruition. The holy Council 
of Florence has defined "that the souls 
of the just, when perfectly purified, are 
at once received into heaven, where 
clearly they see God, three in one, as 
He is." The light of glory is, according 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 201 

to St. Thomas, a created splendor, in 
which the soul receives strength to look 
upon the divine essence, in its threefold 
personality and undivided unity. In the 
power of this light it gazes upon that 
which, without the divine aid, no created 
intellect could see and live. But, in its 
state of glory, in the light, it sees the 
uncreated light, and from the life eter- 
nal draws the power to live more abun- 
dantly. As the measureless hours of 
eternity speed on, the intelligence grows 
stronger by the object on which it feeds. 
All the faculties of the soul expand in 
the splendor of the throne; and with the 
blissful knowledge and ecstatic sight, the 
tide of joy from the heart of the Deity 
inundates the whole being of the just. 
They are "like unto the angels, who 
ever behold the face of the Father who 
is in heaven."* There is a certain sight 
of God even on earth ; but it is the faint 

* St. Matt, xviii. 10 ; xxii. 30. 



202 THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 

view, as of one who sees through a 
glass in a dark manner. In the home 
of glory, says the apostle, "we shall 
see face to face." * "When He shall 
appear we shall see Him as He is." f 
Thus speaks St. Irenseus : u As those 
who see the light are within the light, 
whose brightness illumines them ; so they 
who see God are within God, behold- 
ing His uncreated splendor. And the 
light gives them life ; and they who see 
God receive the gift of life eternal." 
The all- merciful Trinity, by the light of 
glory, showing Himself clearly to the 
blessed, fills them and beatifies them by 
Himself; and so does He pour Himself 
into them that He makes them like 
Himself, blessed, glorious, divine, and, 
as it were, gods. Neither can man as- 
cend higher, nor be more closely joined 
to the divinity. Hence St. Athanasius 
hesitates not to say: "As the Lord, 

* 1 Cor. xiii. 12. + 1 St. John in. 2. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 203 

having taken humanity, was made man, 
so we men from the Word of God are 
deified, since we receive the Word in 
the flesh, and thus partake of life eter- 
nal." And such are the words of St. 
Gregory Nazianzen : "Man gains the di- 
vinity, that he may behold the splendor 
of his Creator." " Of every action and 
contemplation deification is the term ; all 
would be incomplete without this vision 
and enjoyment of God. By this the 
glorified so possess Him that with Him 
they are made one." 

We have reached the supreme beatitude 
when we have become like our God, and, 
being truly in Him, possess Him for ever. 
This is the end of the whole work of the 
divine Paraclete. From our low estate, 
from even the misery of our sins, He 
brings us back to the bosom of God, and 
there, under His protecting wings, wear- 
ing the likeness of the humanit}^ of the 
"Word, we repose upon the Sacred Heart. 



204 THE DIVIDE PAEACLETE. 

There is to be an eternity in God ; an 
endless age in full union with Him, and 
daily increasing knowledge of the infi- 
nite fountain of life, light, and bliss, 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
How can the intellect, in its most mas- 
terful struggles, rise np to the compre- 
hension of such a felicity as this, where 
the rich fulness of Deity is our everlast- 
ing possession ? Oh ! how swiftly the 
angels move around this sea of light, 
filled with ecstatic joy ! How in mute 
adoration bow down the cherubim and 
seraphim, all unable, in their exalted in- 
telligences, to speak of the glory which 
thrills their whole spiritual being ! Yet 
amid the consuming fire of the throne is 
not the form of an angel, nor the bright- 
ness of the seraph. There, seated by the 
Ancient of days, on His Father's right 
hand, with the strong wings of the Spi- 
rit stretched above Him, is the form of 
man, the humanity formed by the Holy 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 205 

Ghost from Mary's flesh — the Word in- 
carnate. He is the " brightness of the 
Father's glory, and the figure of His sub- 
stance." As in the beginning, so in the 
ending, shall He speak for the blessed 
Three in One. To us He seems to turn, 
the children of His toil, His brethren 
after the flesh, coming up from the waste 
of the ruined earth, with the marks of 
the water and the blood from His open- 
ed side. Who are these arrayed in 
white raiment, glistening amid the un- 
created splendor of heaven? They bear 
the likeness of the Child of Mary in 
form and feature. How came they here, 
where the highest archangel faints in 
ecstasy, looking with open face into the 
glory of the divine essence? Let the 
accents of the Word of God reveal the 
mystery. All heaven shall be silent 
when His voice shall speak. Even the 
Father and the Holy Spirit shall turn to 
Him in yearning love. He shall make 



206 



THE DIVIDE PARACLETE. 



known their wondrous mercy. "I am 
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and 
the end, the first and the last." "All is 
in me, and I am in God." " Father, I 
will that where I am they also whom 
Thou hast given me may be with me." * 
"This is the nuptial hour. Come, and 
I will show thee the Bride, the wife of 
the Lamb." f "I will make high festivi- 
ty in this joy of my marriage." "Thou 
art all fair, my love, and there is not a 
spot in thee. Come from Libanus, my 
spouse. Come, be crowned." % 

Then the rushing mighty wind of the 
Spirit shall awake the song of glory, 
and from the temple of the divine hu- 
manity ascend the swelling chorus of 
praise. The Bride shall answer to her 
heavenly Bridegroom, when He shall 
press her to His breast in the long em- 
brace of eternity: "How wondrous is 
Thy grace, how unspeakable Thy love, 

* St. John xvii. 24. t Apoc. xxi. 9. % Canticles iv. 7, 8. 



THE DIVINE PARACLETE. 207 

my King and my Spouse ! If my heart 
were not filled with the fire of Deity, 
how could I bear this overwhelming 
bliss which illumines my whole being, 
the transport which fastens me for ever 
to Thy bosom ! The light of God burns 
in me and around me, and I am not 
consumed. Rather, a mighty power 
seems to raise me up, and a new 
strength, as of life uncreated, lifts me 
in my strange ecstasy. This is indeed 
true life, for now I have found my God. 
I possess Him ; He is mine. O glad 
hour of the heavenly nuptials ! This is 
the blessed union for which my spirit 
hath longed. Time is no more ; the end- 
less life of God is mine. I shall spend 
my eternity in His arms. He shall spend 
His eternity in me. On the bosom of 
Mary's Child I shall rest, and in the 
strength of the divine Paraclete find my 
home in the living embrace of the Fa- 
ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Be- 



208 THE DIVINE PAKACLETE. 

hold the work of grace! Earth reaches 
heaven, and man is one with God. 

"The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. 
And he that heareth, let him say, Come. 
And he that thirsteth, let him come. 
And he that will, let him come and take 
the water of life freely.' 9 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS 



The Confraternity of the Servants of 
the Holy Ghost. 



209 & 210 



I. 



INDULGENCES GRANTED TO THE CONFRA TERNITY. 



The Confraternity of the Servants of the 
Holy Ghost was established in St. Ann's 
Church, New York, August 26, 1879, with 
the approbation of His Eminence Cardinal 
McCloskey, Archbishop of New York. It 
was aggregated to the Arch confraternity 
at Bayswater, London, September 23. 

Our Holy Father, Leo XIII. , by a Re- 
script dated March 10, 1878, has approved 
and indulgenced this Confraternity. 

(1.) He graciously sanctions the name of 
the society, "The Confraternity of the 
Servants of the Holy Ghost." 

(2.) He grants the following indulgences : 

a. Plenary : 

1. On the day of enrolment. 

2. At the hour of death, on invoking 
the Holy Ghost. 

3. On Whit-Sunday. 



212 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

4. On the Feast of the Annunciation 
of Our Lady. 
5. Partial : 

1. Seven years on every day in the Oc- 
tave of Pentecost. 

2. One hundred days to all the mem- 
bers who say the Angelic Salutation de- 
voutly three times every day, and seek for 
the patronage of the Mother of God. 

3. One hundred days to all the mem- 
bers who attend the monthly meetings. 

4. "The members," as the rescript 
says, " wheresoever they may live, will be 
able to enjoy the aforementioned indul- 
gences, both plenary and partial." This 
ensures the indulgence for the monthly 
meetings, wherever they may be held. 

The object of the Confraternity, as ap- 
proved by the Holy Father, is to spread 
more widely and to increase filial affection 
and burning love for the Third Person of 
the Most Holy Trinity, the Fountain of 
Truth and Holiness, and the Author of 
our supernatural life, who is also in every 
way the Giver of grace both to the inno- 
cent and to penitents. 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 213 

The only obligation is to be enrolled. 
Those who wish to be enrolled can write 

to 

Very Rev. Thomas S. Preston, 
110 East Twelfth St., New York. 

The monthly meeting at St. Ann' s is at 
8 p.m. on the first Friday in each month, 
the day of the Exposition of the Adorable 
Sacrament. 



n. 

RULES RECOMMENDED TO THE MEMBERS. 



1. The Servants of the Holy Ghost will 
make a special offering of themselves, soul 
and body, at least once a day, to the Eter- 
nal Spirit of God, adoring at the same time 
Him who dwelieth in us. 

2. Trusting to the Holy Ghost, they will 
do all that they can to correspond with 
grace ; to walk with Jesus in white ; and 
to follow Him " whithersoever He goeth." 

3. They will also do all that they can to 
spread and increase devotion to the Eternal 



214 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

Spirit. They will do this especially by 
prayer, and most of all by prayer before 
the Heart of Jesus in the Tabernacle. 

4. In the Sacrifice of the Mass they will 
adore the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier of the 
Soul of Jesus, " who," in the words of St. 
Paul, " by the Holy Ghost offered Himself 
without spot to God." 

5. They will also adore the Holy Ghost, 
glorifying the Heart of Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

6. They will adore the Holy Ghost as 
Sanctifier in His seven gifts, and in the 
seven Sacraments ; and as the Spirit of 
truth guiding the church and the Holy 
See. 



III. 

A CTS OF OBLA TIOJST. 



On my knees, before the great cloud of 
witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to 
Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the 
brightness of Thy purity ; the unerring 
keenness of Thy justice ; and the might 
of Thy love. Thou art the strength and 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 215 

the light of my soul. In Thee I live, and 
move, and am. I desire never to grieve 
Thee by unfaithfulness to grace ; and I 
pray with all my heart to be kept from 
the smallest sin against Thee. Make me 
faithful in every thought ; and grant that I 
may always listen to Thy voice, and watch 
for Thy light, and follow Thy gracious in- 
spirations. I cling to Thee, and give my- 
self to Thee, and ask Thee by Thy com- 
passion to watch over me in my weakness. 
Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus, and 
looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting 
to His Precious Blood, and adoring His 
opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore 
Thee, Adorable Spirit, helper of my in- 
firmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that 
I may never sin against Thee with the sin 
which Thou canst not forgive. Give me 
grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father 
and the Son, to say to Thee, always and 
everywhere, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant 
heareth. 

O Holy Ghost, Third Person of the 
Blessed Trinity, Spirit of truth, love, and 
holiness, proceeding from the Father and 



216 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

the Son, and equal to them in all things, 
I adore Thee and love Thee with all my 
heart. Teach me to know and seek my 
last end ; grant me the holy fear of God ; 
grant me compunction and patience ; and 
suffer me not to fall into sin. Give me an 
increase of faith, hope, and charity, and 
bring forth in my soul all the virtues pro- 
per to my state of life. Make me a faithful 
disciple of Jesus, and an obedient, child of 
the church. Give me an efficacious grace 
to keep the Commandments, and to receive 
the Sacraments worthily. Give me the 
Four Cardinal Virtues, Thy Seven Gifts, 
Thy Twelve Fruits ; raise me to perfection 
in the state of life to which Thou callest 
me ; and lead me, through a happy death, 
to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 



IV. 

VENI CREA TOR SPIRITUS. 

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come, 
The souls which are Thine own invade ; 

And with supernal grace inflame 
The hearts which Thou Thyself hast made. 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 217 



Thou that art the Comforter, 

The gift of God most high, 
The living fount of fire and love, 

Celestial unction from above ; 

Thou who art of sevenfold power, 
The finger of the Father's hand, 

The fulness of His promised Word, 
Who hast all speech at Thy command ; 

Enkindle light within our minds, 

With love our wayward hearts inflame ; 

And with Thine own undying life 
G'ive vigor to our mortal frame. 

Drive far from us the angry foe, 
And Thy true peace impart within, 

That, Thou our leader and our guide, 
We may escape the snares of sin. 

Through Thee may we the Father know, 
Through Thee approach the eternal Son ; 

And Thee, the Spirit of them both, 
Confess while endless ages run. 

To God the Father glory be, 

And to the Son from death arisen, 

And to the Blessed Paraclete, 
Be praise and ceaseless honor given. 

Amen. 



VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS. 

Holy Spirit ! Lord of light ! 
From Thy clear celestial height 
Thy pure beaming radiance give ; 



218 DEVOTIONS AXD PRAYERS. 



Come, thou Father of the poor ! 
Come, with treasures which endure ! 
Come, thou Light of all that live ! 

Thou, of all consolers best, 
Visiting the troubled breast, 
Dost refreshing peace bestow : 

Thou in toil art comfort sweet ; 
Pleasant coolness in the heat ; 
Solace in the midst of woe. 

Light immortal ! Light divine ! 
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine, 
And our inmost being fill : 

If Thou take Thy grace away, 
Xothing pure in man will stay ; 
All his good is turned to ill. 

Heal our wounds ; our strength renew ; 
On our dryness pour Thy dew ; 
Wash the stains of guilt away : 

Bend the stubborn heart and will ; 
Melt the frozen, warm the chill ; 
Guide the steps that go astray. 

Thou, on those who evermore 
Thee confess and Thee adore, 
In thy sevenfold gifts descend : 

Give them comfort when they die ; 
Give them life with Thee on high ; 
Give them joys which never end. Amen. 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 219 

The Sovereign Pontiff, Pius YL, by a 
brief, May 26, 1796, granted to all the 
faithful who, once or of tener in the day, 
with at least contrite heart and devotion, 
shall say the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, 
or the sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus. 

A Plenary Indulgence, once a month, on 
any day on which, being truly penitent, 
after confession and communion, they shall 
pray for peace and union among Christian 
princes, for the extirpation of heresy, and 
for the triumph of holy mother church. 

An Indulgence of Three Hundred Days 
to all those who, on Whit-Sunday and dur- 
ing its octave, with at least contrite heart 
and devotion, shall say this hymn or the 
sequence, praying as above directed. 

An Indulgence of One Hundred Days, on 
all other days of the year, every time that, 
with at least contrite heart and devotion, 
they shall say this hymn or the sequence, 
praying as above directed. 



220 DEVOTIONS AND PRATERS. 

V. 

THE LITTLE OFFICE OF THE HOLY GHOST* 

At Matins. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O Lord, open Thou our lips : 
It. And oar mouth shall show forth Thy 
praise. 

V. O God, make speed to save us. 
i2. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

From Septuagesima to Holy Thursday, 
instead of Alleluia, is said. Praise be to 
Thee, O Lord, Thou King of everlasting 
glory. 

Hymn. 

From the rippling of the river, 

From the waving tree of life, 
Gabriel came, a fiery splendor, 

Came from God to Joseph's wife. 

When with spirit, strong and tender, 

Low he knelt in Mary's cell, 
In the wondrous work of ages 

Jesus came with us to dwell. 



* From the " Hand-book " of Very Rev. Father Rawes. 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 221 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts 
of Thy faithful ones, and kindle in them 
the fire of Thy love. 

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall 
be made : 

It. And Thou shalt renew the face of the 
earth. 

Prayer. 

May the power of the Holy Ghost be 
ever with us, we beseech Thee, O God; 
and may He in His mercy cleanse our 
hearts and save ns from all clangers ; 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with 
Thee and the same Holy Ghost liveth and 
reigneth, one God, world without end. 
Amen. 



At Lauds. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 
JR. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 



222 



DEVOTIONS AND PKAYEKS. 



Hymn, 

Angels, kneeling by the manger, 

Gazed upon the kingly Child ; 
Jesus, born of Virgin- Mother, 

Looked up in her face and smiled. 

Through long years He dwelt with Mary 

In the holy home unseen ; 
Waiting for the time appointed, 

Lived the lowly Nazarene. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



At Prime. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten onr minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 
R. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

Hymn. 

On He went, with blessings laden, 
In His sweetness and His might ; 
. And the souls that lay in darkness 
Saw the shining of His light. 

Crucified and dead, He slumbered 

Sweetly in His garden grave : 
In His risen light ascending, 

Blessings to His own He gave. 



DEVOTIONS A1S T D PEAYERS. 



223 



Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



At Terce. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 
R. Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

Hymn. 

After ten long days of waiting 

Came the Spirit from above ; 
For He would not leave them orphans, 

And He brought them gifts of love. 

Fount of truth and light and healing, 
With His gifts that Spirit came ; 

Then the tongues of cloven brightness 
Swiftly set their hearts on flame. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



At Sexk 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 



224 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 



JR. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

Hymn, 

Then the sevenfold grace descended ; 

With it all their souls were filled ; 
And they gave their Master's message, 

Speaking as the Spirit willed. 

Forth they went in light and gladness, 

Never ceasing, never dim ; 
Leaving every love for Jesus, 

Giving every love to Him. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



At Nones. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 
JR. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia 

Hymn. 

Reign eth over all the Spirit 

Of the Father and the Son ; 
Yet in lowly hearts He dwelleth 

Till the work of God be done. 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 225 



Ba]sam of the true Physician, 
Always, Holy Ghost, Thou art ; 

Healing every pain and sorrow, 
Giving joy to every heart. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



At Vespers. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and our hearts. Amen. 
V. O God, make speed to save us. 
R. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

Hymn. 

Now the shades of evening deepen, 
Now the night comes on apace ; 

Holy Spirit, give Thy servants 

Thoughts of fire and gifts of grace. 

Thou dost shine on those who love Thee, 
Through the darkness of the night ; 

Holy Spirit, be our Helper, 
Be our Everlasting Light. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



226 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 



At Compline. 

May the grace of the Holy Ghost en- 
lighten our minds and oar hearts. Amen. 

V. Convert us, O God, our salvation : 
B. And turn away Thy anger from us. 

V. O God, make speed to save us. 
H. O Lord, make haste to help us. 
Glory. Alleluia. 

Hymn. 

May the Spirit, dwelling in us, 
As the noonday, bright and clear, 

Fill the souls of all His servants 
Full of love and holy fear. 

So when Jesus comes to judgment, 
And before His throne we stand, 

Words of gracious love will bring us 
Safely to the Promised Land. 

Ant. Come, Holy Ghost, etc., with the 
prayer as before. 



Commendation. 

These prayers, Eternal Spirit, I have 
offered to Thee, loving Thee and praising 
Thee and adoring Thee, in Thy beauty and 
Thy majesty, in Thy light and in Thy 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 227 

strength. I pray, divine Spirit, that Thou 
wilt always visit ns with Thy inspirations 
and guide us by Thy counsel, that one day 
we may dwell with Thee for ever in the 
heavenly kingdom. Amen. 

Seven Glorias in honor of the Holy 
Ghost, the Fountain of Light and infalli- 
ble truth, as a prayer for His Seven Gifts, 
for the spread of the Faith, and for the in- 
tention of the Holy Father. 

{For this there is an Indulgence of seven days.) 



VI. 

A WAY OF HEARING MASS IN HONOR OF THE HOLY 
GHOST. * 

At the Asperges. 

"The earth was void and empty, and 
darkness was upon the face of the deep, 
and the Spirit of God moved over the 
waters : and God said, Be light made ; 
and light was made." 

"I will pour out upon the house of 
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem, the Spirit of grace and of prayers ; 

*From the "Hand-book " of Very Rev. Father Rawes. 



228 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

and they shall look on me, whom they 
have pierced." 

" Jesus, being baptized, forthwith came 
out of the water ; and lo, the heavens 
were opened to Him, and He saw the 
Spirit of Grod descending as a dove, and 
coming upon Him." 

" He that hath an ear, let him hear what 
the Spirit saith to the churches." 

"Not with an army nor by might, but 
by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." 

" My Spirit shall be in the midst of you : 
fear not." 

" When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, 
He will teach you all truth. For He shall 
not speak of Himself ; but what things so- 
ever He shall hear He shall speak, and the 
things that are to come He shall show you. 
He shall glorify me because He shall re- 
ceive of mine, and shall show it to you." 

At the Judica. 
Help me, O Holy Ghost, to make my- 
self ready for the judgment of the Son of 
Man. I am full of darkness and full of 
sin, but I have a great longing to be better 



DEVOTIONS AO PRAYERS. 229 

than I am. Through my own faithlessness 
I am often overcome by temptation. Thou 
art my strength against the tempter. I 
fall when I forget thee, O Thou Helper of 
my weakness. I am blind and poor, and 
weak in myself ; but Thou pourest on me 
the riches of grace, and makest me see 
what is right, and givest me strength to 
do it. Without Thee I can do nothing ; 
but with Thy help I can keep from sin, 
and grow in grace, and enter into life. O 
ever-living Spirit, dear and precious, make 
me more and more a child of the light, 
* that I may walk in that light and inherit 
the promises. Keep always before my 
eyes the judgment to which I must one 
day come. 

Thou who didst come to the disciples at 
Ephesus by the hands of St. Paul, come 
more and more to us, who are Thy servants, 
praying for Thy glory, longing to love Thee 
more, and longing to be more loved by 
Thee. 



At the Confiteor. 
By the Spirit of the Father and of the 



230 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

Son I confess my sins, and by Thee I am 
sorry for them. When I look back and see 
the greatness of my sins, the evil that I 
have done, and the good that I have not 
done, how thankless I have been and how 
wilful, how I have hardened my heart to 
Thy voice and blinded my eyes to Thy 
light, my soul is overwhelmed with fear, 
and faints within me, and crieth out in 
pain. But when I turn to Thee and rest on 
Thee, amid the sprinkling of the Blood of 
Jesus, Thou dost give me great comfort 
and much confidence in God and the ful- 
ness of Thy peace. Thy peace is the peace 
of Jesus, which the world can neither give 
nor take away. Not as the world giveth 
dost Thou give that peace to me. Give me 
grace, O adorable Spirit, to hate sin and to 
love justice according to Thy will. Save 
me from the guilt of mortal sin ; and, if I 
fall, grant that I may always hasten to the 
Sacrament of Penance, the fountain opened 
for the washing of the sinner. Take away 
all the evil that is in me, and make my 
soul bright with the brightness of the king- 
dom of God. Let Thy light shine in my 



DEVOTIONS AND P HAYEKS. 231 

soul, for by Thee we are new-born in 
light. 

At the Introit. 
Holy Ghost, I long greatly to enter in- 
to that home of Gf-od where Thou dwellest 
in Thy strength, in Thy wisdom, and in 
Thy love. There Thou art ever adored by 
saints and angels ; and there Thy servants 
serve Thee and see Thy face. Everything 
is worthless but the possession of Thee, 
and the sight of Thy Godhead, as Thou 
fillest all in all. Thou art God over all, 
blessed for ever more. It is always a hid- 
den joy in my soul that Thou art what 
Thou art. I praise Thee and bless Thee for 
Thy great glory. Bring me, O created 
Love, to the city on the heavenly Mount 
Sion, from which they who enter go Out no 
more. It was of Thee that Jesus said : u I 
will ask the Father, and He will give you 
another Paraclete, who will abide with you 
for ever." 



At the Kyrie* 
Have mercy upon me, Blessed Spirit, 



232 DEVOTIOXS AXD PRAYERS. 



because of Thy goodness ; in thy kindness 
and graciousness cleanse me from my sins. 
Have mercy upon me ; for Thou art God, 
and I am dust and ashes. Have mercy 
upon me ; for Thou art wise and strong, 
and I am weak and blind, and Thou know- 
est whereof I am made. Thou knowest 
it, for Thou didst make me. With all 
my strength I turn in my sinfulness to 
Thee, and ask Thee for Thy help. Oh ! 
bring me, adorable Spirit, to the Heart of 
my Lord. Thou art the Helper of my infir- 
mities, and with great gentleness Thou 
drawest me upward, giving me light, giv- 
ing me strength, giving me hope. From 
the desert Thou bringest me to a land 
11 owing with milk and honey. From the 
cities of the plain Thy angel leads me 
to my mountain-refuge and to the shin- 
ing crest of Libanus. From the tents of 
Kedar Thou dost draw me sweetly to the 
Tabernacles of the King, making me glad 
when I go into the House of my Lord. O 
Holy Ghost, Spirit of Love, have mercy, 
have mercy upon me. Thou dost gather 
us from all lands, and dost pour upon us 



DEVOTIONS ANT> PRAYERS. 233 

clean water, washing us from all our sins 
and giving us a new spirit. 

Glory be to Thee in the highest, O Spirit 
of the living God. Blessing and praise, and 
love and worship, and honor and power be 
to Thee for ever and ever. May Thy might 
be made known among men, and Thy wis- 
dom to the ends of the earth. May all 
creatures in heaven, and in purgatory, and 
on earth know Thy love more and more, 
because of the greatness of Thy work in 
the church of Jesus. Thou art infinite, 
immense, eternal. Thou art in every 
way equal to the Father, and in every way 
equal to the Son. With the Father and 
the Son Thou art one God in Thy indivisi- 
ble substance. Thou art the Love of the 
Father and of the Son. By one spiration 
Thou dost ever proceed from them, as from 
one principle. Thou art the bond of the 
ever-blessed Trinity, and Thy life doth not 
change. Thou art Thine own beatitude. 
Thine own glory, Thine own life. Thou art 
our life and our comforter, the Paraclete 
who came from Jesus. Thou art the living 
Water which Jesus gives to those who be- 



234 DEVOTIONS A1STD PRAYERS. 

lieve in Him. Thou art light : Thy light is 
come, and Thou dost enlighten Jerusalem. 
Thou, the Lord, hast risen upon us, and 
Thy glory is seen upon us. The Gentiles 
walk in Thy light, and kings in the bright- 
ness of Thy rising. There cometh to Thee 
the strength of the nations, and Thou dost 
abound in the multitude of the sea. That 
which is first said of the Incarnate Word, 
in another way we say of Thee. Thy sons 
come to Thee from afar, and Thy daughters 
rise up at Thy side. " Who are these that 
fly as clouds, and as doves to their win- 
dows ? 5 ' They are gathered together ; they 
come to Tliee. The glory of Libanus is 
Thine. We, Thy servants, love Thee with 
all our strength, and bless Thee, and praise 
Thee, and glorify Thee for ever. 



At the Collects. 

O Spirit of love, give me grace to know 
Thee better, and to taste and see how sweet 
and how gracious Thou art. The joy of the 
world is nothing, and the pleasure of crea- 
t ures is nothing ; the desire of the eyes is 



DEVOTIOXS AXD PRAYERS. 



235 



nothing ; but Thou art all in all, and at 
Thy right hand there are pleasures for ever- 
more. With Thee is the joy which fadeth 
not, and the love which ceaseth not. With 
Thee is the day of rest that remaineth for 
the peoj)le of God. With Thee is the ful- 
ness of bliss. Spirit of glory, let the 
thought of this be ever with me, and let the 
hope of this be the daystar of my soul. 
By the love that Thou hast for Jesus, save 
me from the evil and keep me from sin. 
O Spirit of peace, my own Beloved, I trust 
Thee and give myself to Thee. Thou dost 
teach me ; for Thou art the Holy Spirit, 
the Paraclete, whom the Father sent in the 
name of Jesus. 



At the Epistle. 

"There is now, therefore, no condemna- 
tion to them that are in Christ Jesus, who 
walk not according to the flesh : for the 
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 
hath delivered me from the law of sin and 
death. For what the law could not do, in 
that it was weak in the flesh, Gfod, send- 



236 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

ing His Son in the likeness of sinful 
flesh, hath condemned sin in the flesh, 
that the justification of the law might be 
fulfilled in us who walk not according to 
the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 
For they that hie according to the flesh 
mind the things that are of the flesh ; but 
they that are according to the Spirit mind 
the things of the Spirit ; for the wisdom 
of the flesh is death, but the wisdom of the 
Spirit is life and peace: because the wis- 
dom of the flesh is an enemy to Grod ; for 
it is not subject to the law of God, nor can 
be ; and they who are in the flesh cannot 
please Q-od. But you are not in the flesh, 
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of 
Grod dwell in you. Now, if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His : 
and if Christ be in you, the body indeed 
is dead because of sin, but the spirit liveth 
because of justification ; and if the Spirit 
of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead 
dwell in you, He that raised up Jesus 
Christ from the dead shall quicken also 
your mortal bodies, because of His Spirit 
that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, 



DEVOTIONS ATO PRAYERS. 237 

we are debtors not to the flesh, to live ac- 
cording to the flesh,- for if you live accord- 
ing to the flesh you shall die. But if by 
the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the 
flesh, you shall live ; for whosoever are led 
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of 
God. For you have not received the spirit 
of bondage again in fear, but you have 
received the spirit of adoption of sons, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father: for the 
Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our 
spirit that we are the sons of God : and, if 
sons, heirs also ; heirs indeed of God, and 
joint heirs with Christ, yet so if we suffer 
with Him, that we may be glorified with 
Him!' 5 

Jesus, King and Spouse, Thou dost ever 
give to us the joy of Thy Spirit. 



At the Munda cor Ileum. 

Holy Ghost, Uncreated Love of the 
ever-blessed Trinity, Thou art living Water 
and living Fire. Drench my heart in the 
streams of Thy grace, and make it clean 
before Thee. Purify my heart in the fire 



238 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

of Thy love, and burn up all the dross in 
it, that it may be bright in Thy eyes. 
Adorable Spirit, be to me the water of life. 
Adorable Spirit, be to me also that flame 
of judgment and of burning by which Sion 
and Jerusalem are cleansed. 

Jesus, let Thy Holy Spirit dwell ever 
more and more in my heart. 

At the Gospel. 

"Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a 
man be born again of water and the Holy 
Ghost he cannot enter into the kingdom 
of God. That which is born of the flesh 
is flesh, and that which is born of the 
Spirit is spirit. Wonder not that I said 
to thee. You must be born again. The 
Spirit breatheth where He will, and thou 
hearest His voice ; but thou knowest not 
whence He cometh or whither He goeth : 
so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 

" Jesus said, If thou didst know the gift 
of God, and who is He that saith to thee, 
Give me to drink, thou perhaps wouldst 
have asked of Him, and He would have 
given thee living water. . . . Whoso- 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 239 

ever drinketh of this water shall thirst 
again ; but he that shall drink of the 
water that I will give him shall not thirst 
for ever: but the water that I will give 
him shall become in him a fountain of 
water springing up to everlasting life." 

"When the Paraclete cometh, whom I 
will send you from the Father, the Spirit 
of truth who proceedeth from the Father, 
He shall give testimony of me. ... I 
tell you the truth : it is expedient for you 
that I go,, for if I go not the Paraclete will 
not come to you ; but if I go I will send 
Him to you : . . and when He is 
come He will convince the world of sin, 
and of justice, and of judgment : of sin, 
because they believed not in me ; and of 
justice, because I go to the Father, and ye 
see me no more ; and of judgment, because 
the prince of this world is already judged." 

"The Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom 
the Father will send in My name, He will 
teach you all things, and bring all things 
to your mind, whatsoever I shall have 
said to you. Peace I leave with you ; My 
peace I give unto you ; not as the world 



240 DEVOTIONS AXD PRAYERS. 

giveth do I give to you. Let not your 
heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid." 

Jesus, Thou dost feed us with the wheat 
of heaven, and dost satisfy us with honey 
from the rock. 



At the Credo. 

O Spirit of truth, keep my faith bright 
and strong. Let it never be dimmed, 
never be shaken. I love Thee and bless 
Thee for all that Thou hast revealed in the 
Scriptures of G-od. I praise Thee for all 
that Thou hast taught us by divine tradi- 
tions, and by the infallible voice of the 
Vicar of Christ, and by the councils of the 
church. ' I bless Thee and thank Thee for 
the writings of theologians, dogmatic and 
moral, and mystical and ascetic. In their 
pages I see Thy presence and feel the touch 
of Thy hand. Thou art ever moving over 
the waters, as at the beginning. Thou dost 
ever guide us, and dost ever draw us up- 
ward to Thyself. With all my heart I 
trust Thee and believe Thy word. I believe 
beforehand all that Thou mayest teach by 



DEVOTIONS AND PEAYERS. 241 

the Apostolic See till the day of doom. 
Wisely and sweetly thou dost order all 
things from one end of the world to the 
other ; wisely and sweetly, at fitting times, 
Thou dost teach the church by the suc- 
cessor of St. Peter, fixing the ancient land- 
marks, and defining doctrines according to 
Thy will. As it has ever been, so it is 
now, and so it will be till the sign of the 
Son of Man shall be seen in heaven ; when 
He shall come with clouds, and every eye 
shall see Him, and we shall look on Him 
whom we pierced. Spirit of God, I trust 
Thee utterly, and seek Thee always, and 
find in Thee the fulness of truth. Thou 
commandest the clouds above, and openest 
the doors of heaven, and rainest down 
manna on us to eat, and givest us ' the 
Bread of Life. 



At the Offertory. 
O Holy Ghost, Thou life-giving Spirit, 
overshadow this bread and this chalice of 
salvation. The priest is praying, and say- 
ing, "Come, Thou Sanctifier, Almighty, 
Eternal God, and bless this Sacrifice made 



242 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

ready for Thy name." Give me grace 
always so to offer myself to Thee that I 
may be to Thee a sacrifice of light. Thou 
givest us food in abundance : let me not 
bring upon myself the wrath of God by 
sin ; let me not turn back and grieve the 
Holy One of Israel. 



At the Lavabo. 

O Spirit of grace, wash me from my 
wickedness, and cleanse me from my sins. 
Have mercy on me, God, according to 
Thy great goodness. I have done evil be- 
fore Thee ; I have sinned against Thee ; I 
have wasted Thy gifts and have grieved 
Thee. If Thou wilt sprinkle me I shall be 
made clean ; if Thou wilt wash me I shall 
be whiter than snow. By the merits of 
Jesus, and by his adorable Blood, I ask 
Thee to turn away Thy face from my sins, 
and to blot out all my iniquities. I ask 
Thee, by Thy love of the Incarnate Word, 
to renew in me a right spirit, and to make 
in me a clean heart. So wilt Thou 
strengthen me and give me joy. Thou 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 243 

wilt give me the joy of Thy glory, that I 
may give thanks for ever to Thee. In Thy 
love Thou wilt call me, Spirit of life, to 
Thy heavenly kingdom. 



At the Secret Prayers. 
O Holy Ghost, secretly and silently 
Thou dost Thy work in the heart. With 
the Father and the Son Thou dost come to 
us, and dost make Thy abode with us. 
Help me to love Jesus, that there may be 
always this abiding of God in my soul. 
Turn the wilderness of my soul into pools 
of water, and the dry land of my spirit 
into springing wells. Thou dost sow the 
fields, and dost plant the vineyards : bless 
me, that I may yield fruit pleasing to 
Thee; make me wise, that I may keep 
Thy commandments and understand Thy 
mercies. Great above the heavens is Thy 
mercy. Strengthen my soul by the Word 
of the Lord, for Thou art the Spirit of His 
mouth. 

At the Preface. 
most merciful Spirit, I love and adore 



241 DEVOTIONS AND PRATERS. 

Thee for Thy goodness. O most gracious 
Spirit, I praise Thee and adore Thee for 
Thy love. O Spirit of might, who dost 
break the rocks in pieces, I fear Thee and 
adore Thee for Thy strength. Thou dost 
understand all my thoughts ; Thou dost 
know all my ways. Thou givest me Thy 
gifts of grace in Thy love and wisdom. 
"By wisdom the house shall be built, and 
by prudence it shall be strengthened. By 
instruction the store-rooms shall be filled 
with all precious and most beautiful, 
wealth." Give me the wealth of Thy 
grace, and build up the house of my soul. 
Rise always in me, and let Thine enemies 
be scattered, and let those that hate Thee 
fly before Thy face. Let me not lose hope 
through weariness in the day of distress. 
I can do nothing of myself ; but in Thee 
and with Thee I can overcome and be 
faithful, and walk even here with Jesus in 
white. 

Our Lady of the Holy Ghost, pray for me. 



At the Canon. 
" Who among men is he that can know 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 245 

the counsel of God? Or who can think 
what the will of God is ? For the thoughts 
of mortal men are fearful, and our coun- 
sels uncertain. For the corruptive body 
is a load upon the soul ; and the earthly 
habitation presseth down the mind that 
museth upon many things ; and hardly do 
we guess aright at things that are upon 
earth ; and with labor do we find the 
things that are before us. But the things 
that are in heaven who 'shall search out? 
And who shall know Thy thought, unless 
Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy 
Spirit from above : and so the ways of 
them that are on earth may be corrected, 
and men may learn the things that may 
please Thee?" 

" Oh ! how good and sweet is Thy Spirit, 
O Lord, in all things : and therefore Thou 
dost chastise them that err, by little and 
little; and dost admonish them, and 
speakest to them concerning the things 
wherein they offend, that, leaving their 
wickedness, they may believe in Thee, O 
Lord." 

u So much, then, as Thou art just, Thou 



246 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

orderest all things justly ; thinking it not 
agreeable to Thy power to condemn him 
who deserveth not to be punished. For 
Thy power is the beginning of justice, and 
because Thou art Lord of all Thou makest 
Thyself gracious to all. For Thou showest 
Thy power when men will not believe Thee 
to be absolute in power ; and Thou dost 
convince the boldness of men that know 
Thee not. But Thou being master of 
power judgest with tranquillity, and with 
great reverence disposest of us ; for Thy 
power is at hand when Thou wilt." 

Great is Thy strength, O Holy Ghost ; 
make firm, O God, the things that Thou 
hast wrought in me. 



Commemoration of the Living. 

O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and 
the Son, let the might of thy love be more 
and more felt in the hearts of men. Let 
Thy light shine more and more on souls 
that are wandering in the darkness far 
away from God. Turn them to the light- 
giving Heart of Jesus and to the healing 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS, 247 

streams of His Precious Blood. Strengthen 
the souls thfit love Thee. Perfect in them 
Thy seven gifts and Thy twelve fruits ; 
and so make them Thy temples here that 
Thou mayest be adored in them for ever. 



At the Hanc igitur. 

" It is written that eye hath not seen, nor 
ear heard, neither hath it entered into the 
heart of man, what things God hath pre- 
pared for them that love Him. But to us 
God hath revealed them by His Spirit ; for 
the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep 
things of God. For what man knoweth 
the things of a man but the spirit of a man 
that is in him ? So the things also that 
are of God no man knoweth but the Spirit 
of God. Now we have received not the 
spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is 
of God, that we may know the things that 
are given us from God ; w^hich things also 
we speak, not in the learned words of 
human wisdom, but in the doctrine of the 
Spirit, comparing spiritual things with 
spiritual. But the sensual man perceiveth 
not these things that are of the Spirit of 



248 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

God ; for it is foolishness to him, and he 
cannot understand, because it is spiritually 
examined. But the spiritual man judgeth 
all things, and he himself is judged by no 
man : for who hath known the mind of the 
Lord, that he may instruct Him % But we 
have the mind of Christ." 

O Spirit of wisdom, enlighten our souls, 
and let our mouths be filled with Thy 
praise. 

At the Consecration. 

O Holy Ghost, by Thee Jesus offered 
Himself without spot to God. Being 
anointed and sanctified in His manhood 
by that substantial holiness which is the 
Word, He was also anointed and sanc- 
tified by Thee, O Thou Eternal Spirit. 
Being holy by the grace of union, He was 
holy also by the created grace which Thou 
dost give. His Human Nature is hypo- 
statically united to the Word, and it is also 
Thy Temple, Spirit of promise. Now the 
Sacrifice is offered on the altar, and this 
Jesus, whom we love, is the Lamb slain, 
who yet dieth no more. We adore Thee, 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 249 

O Father, and Thee, O Son, and Thee, O 
Holy Ghost, in this mystery of heaven. 
We adore Thee, the One God, dwelling in 
the inaccessible light. Towards that light 
our souls are lifted, and in Thy love they 
are hidden, O Blessed Trinity. 

O Holy Ghost, loved and loving, who 
didst overshadow the Mother of God in the 
splendor of the Incarnation, overshadow 
now this Altar of Sacrifice, and keep us in 
the light with Thee. By Thee the spotless 
Victim is offered to God. Thy love, and 
Thy wisdom, and Thy might are seen in 
these high places of the city of peace. 
Thou bringest to me the joys of the morn- 
ing, and the sweetness of the Garden of 
the King. 

At the Commemoration of the Dead. 

The holy souls are Thy temples, Thou 
gracious Spirit, and Thou dost watch over 
them, and love them, and help them in 
their pain. The dimness of their dwelling- 
place is an abode for Thee, and the bright- 
ness of their souls is the kindling of Thy 
light. They ever taste and know the 



250 DEVOTIONS AJSTD PRAYERS. 

sweetness of Thy care and the watchful 
tenderness of Thy love. Dear Spirit, help 
these loved ones of God. . . . 

O Mary, Bride of the Holy Ghost, pray 
for these suffering souls, who are very dear 
to thy Spouse of light. Pray for them in 
the piercing keenness of their pain, that 
they may soon come to the vision of God. 



At the Nobis quoque. 

Our hearts faint within us, Blessed 
Spirit, when we think of all the gifts that 
Thou givest to us sinners. In Thy love 
Thou dost make us Thy friends. One 
thing we ask of Thee, that we may be more 
faithful to Thy light. It is sweet to think 
of Thee in Thy works. It is very sweet to 
think of Thy unction in our Lord as man, 
and of Thy love poured forth in the soul 
of the holy Child Jesus, whom Thou didst 
anoint. Thy gifts and fruits are in Him 
as in no other created spirit. He is God 
and man. He was dead, and liveth for 
evermore, having in His pierced hands the 
keys of hell and of death. O Jesus, Sa- 



DEVOTIONS AXD PRAYEBS. 251 



vionr. King. Judge, anointed with the 
Holy Ghost, draw me to Thyself, and be 
to me more and more an everlasting rest. 

Our Lady of the Holy Ghost, ask thy 
Spouse of love to bless me more and more. 

O ye seven Spirits who stand before the 
Face of Jesus, the faithful witness and 
first-born of the dead, kindle the fire of 
God in our souls, and be round about us 
like a wall of flame. 

Jesus "hath loved us and washed us 
from our sins in His own Blood. 55 



At the Pater noster. 

Holy Ghost, ray Lord and my Love, 
in Thee I say this prayer of my Eider Bro- 
ther, my Saviour and God. Thou hast 
given me the spirit of the adoption of a 
son. and by Thee I cry, Abba, Father. 
Thou dost make me, and keep me the child 
of my Father, who is in heaven. Once I 
was in great darkness : now by Thee lam 
light in the Lord. Give me grace to walk 
as a child of the light. They who are led 
by the Spirit of God are the children of 
God. Give me grace so to be faithful to 



252 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 



Thee that in me the name of God may 
be hallowed, and that by me the will of 
God may be done. Thou art the all- wise 
Love, who dost save us from evil, and dost 
lead us into light. In Thee, O Holy Ghost, 
I have hoped ; let me not be cast away. 
In Thy goodness free me and save me, for 
I love Thee and trust Thee. 



At the Agnus Dei. 
O ever-loving Spirit, by Thee the holy 
Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming to him, 
said : " Behold the Lamb of God ; behold 
Him who taketh away the sins of the 
world." Fill my heart with sorrow for 
my sins, and lead me to the Fountain of 
cleansing. Thou dost bring me to the Pre- 
cious Blood by which we are redeemed 
from all peoples and tongues. By* Thee 
the holy Baptist said of Jesus : " He it is 
that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." O 
indwelling Spirit, make me ever more and 
more a dwelling of God. Give me light to 
understand better the holiness of His living 
temples ; and give me strength to strive 
more earnestly to keep myself without 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 253 

spot, blameless, to the coming of my Lord 
Jesus Christ. Now help me, Thy servant, 
that then I may love Thee, and praise Thee, 
and adore Thee for ever in Thy kingdom. 

Our Lady of the Holy Ghost, pray for 
all faithful souls. 



At the Communion. 

" Know you not that you are the temple 
of God, and that the Spirit of God dwell- 
ed! in you? But if any man defile the 
temple of God, him will God destroy ; for 
the temple of God is holy, which you are. 3 ' 

" Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, 
whereby you are sealed to the day of re- 
demption." 

"We, in spirit by faith, wait for the 
hope of justice." 

"I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, be- 
seech you that you walk worthy of the 
vocation in which you are called, with all 
humility and mildness, with patience, sup- 
porting one another in charity, careful to 
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace : one body and one Spirit, as you are 



2o4 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

called in one hope of your calling : one 
Lord, one faith, one baptism ; one God 
and Father of all, who is above all, and 
through all, and in all." 

" Be renewed in the Spirit of your mind ; 
and put on the new man, who, according 
to God, is created in justice and holiness 
of truth." 

" According to the foreknowledge of God 
the Father, unto the sanctification of the 
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of 
the Blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you, 
and peace be multiplied." 

' ' Purifying your souls in the obedience 
of charity, with a brotherly love, from a 
sincere heart, love one another earnestly ; 
being born again not of corruptible seed, 
but of incorruptible by the Word of God, 
who liveth and reigneth for ever." 



At the Collects. 

O Holy Ghost, living God, dwell in me, 
and let the sunshine of Thy love ripen Thy 
fruits in my soul. May I grow in love, 
joy, and peace ; in patience, kindness, and 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 255 

goodness ; in long-suffering, mildness, and 
faith ; in modesty, continence, and chas- 
tity. Help me to crucify the flesh with its 
vices and desires. Let me not fail in doing 
good, that in due time I may reap. Show 
Thy mercy upon the Israel of Gfod. Hear 
me quickly, O Lord, for without Thee my 
spirit faileth, and my life withereth away. 
Guide me, for Thou art the Spirit of grace ; 
and bring me to my inheritance, for Thou 
art the Spirit of truth. Make me poor in 
spirit, that mine may be the kingdom of 
heaven. 

O Mother of God, sanctified by the Holy 
Ghost in thy Immaculate Conception, pray 
for me. 

O Mother of God, sanctified by the Holy 
Ghost in the sweetness and brightness of 
thy Annunciation, pray for me. 

Mother of God, sanctified by the Holy 
Ghost in the flames of Pentecost and the 
fire of thy uncreated Love, pray for me. 

O ye Apostles of the Lamb, filled with 
the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, and crowned 
with living fire, pray for me. 



256 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 



At the Last Gospel. 

" There shall come forth a rod out of the 
root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out 
of his root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall 
rest upon Him : the Spirit of wisdom and 
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and 
of fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and 
of godliness ; and he shall be filled with 
the Spirit of the fear of the Lord." 

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; 
for what things a man shall sow, those also 
shall he reap. For he that soweth in his 
flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corrup- 
tion. But he that soweth in the Spirit, 
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." 

"The fruit of the light is in all good- 
ness, and justice, and truth ; proving what 
is well pleasing to G-od : and have no fel- 
lowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 
ness, but rather reprove them. For the 
things that are done by them in secret, it is 
a shame even to speak of. But all things 
that are reproved are made manifest by 
the light, for all that is made manifest is 
light. See, therefore, brethren, how you 



DEVOTIONS AND PEAYERS. 257 

walk circumspectly ; not as unwise, but as 
wise, redeeming the time because the days 
are evil. Wherefore become not unwise, 
but understanding what is the will of 
God." 

"Put you on' the armor of God, that 
you may be able to stand against the de- 
ceits of the devil. For our wrestling is 
not against flesh and blood ; but against 
principalities and powers, against the 
rulers of the world of this darkness, 
against the spirits of wickedness in the 
high places. Therefore take unto you the 
armor of God, that you may be able to 
resist in the evil day, and to stand in all 
things perfect. Stand, therefore, having 
y our loins girt about with truth, and hav- 
ing on the breastplate of justice ; and your 
feet shod with the preparation of the gos- 
pel of peace ; in all things taking the shield 
of faith, wherewith you may be able to ex- 
tinguish all the fiery darts of the most 
wicked one ; and take unto you the helmet 
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, 
which is the Word of God." * 

O Holy Ghost, most precious, most 



258 DEVOTION'S AND PRAYERS. 

dearly loved, Thou Gf-od of my salvation, f 
cry to Thee in the daytime, and in the 
night to Thee I lift up my voice. Thy 
mercy and Thy truth are built up for 
ever in heaven. They go before thy face. 
Thou art glorified in the assembly of the 
Saints. Justice and judgment are the pre- 
paration of Thy Throne. Let me, Thy ser- 
vant, walk in the light of Thy countenance 
and rejoice in Thy name. . Let Thy hand 
help me and Thine arm strengthen me. 
Let my words come in before Thee, and 
bend down Thine ear to my prayer. 

O Holy Ghost, whom my soul loveth, I 
bless Thee, and thank Thee, and praise Thee 
with all my heart for the help that Thou 
hast given to me, the un worthiest of Thy 
servants, in hearing this Mass. Let its 
light be in me, all day and all night, like 
the morning star, like the shining of the 
sun, like the brightness of seven days. 
Let it drive far from me every kind of 
darkness, and every shadow of gloom. 
May the offering of this Victim of God be 
strength and light in my soul till the glory 
of Jesus crucified again falls on me from 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 259 

the Altar. Give me every day more love 
for this adorable Sacrifice Let me be al- 
ways very glad when I can go to the Altar 
of my Grod. Show me every day more and 
more of the splendor and sweetness of 
Mass, as the light of Jesns comes to Jeru- 
salem, and the glory of my Lord rises up- 
on me. Bring me to my Redeemer in 
Sion, that I may inherit the land in which 
are trees of Thy planting, and harvests of 
which Thou didst sow the seed. Be to me 
an everlasting joy, and give to me Thy 
everlasting light, Spirit of love and 
grace. Make me, the least of Thy ser- 
vants, an everlasting glory where the sun 
goeth down no more. 



VII. 

THE PROPER OF THE MASS OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



Introit. 

"The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the 
whole world: and that which containeth 
all things, hath knowledge of the voice" 
(Wisdom i. 7). 

{In the Pasclial time, Alleluia, Alleluia.) 



260 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

' ' Let God arise, and let His enemies be 
scattered : and let those who hate Him 
flee before His face " (Psalm lxvii. 1). 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the 
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world 
without end. Amen. 

The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the 
whole earth. 



Prayer. 

O God, who by the light of the Holy 
Ghost didst instruct the hearts of the 
faithful ; grant us in the same Spirit to 
relish that which is right, and ever to re- 
joice in His consolation, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with 
Thee in the unity of the same Spirit, one 
God, world without end. Amen. 



Acts of the Apostles, chap. viii. 14-17. 

"In those days, when the apostles who 
were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria 
had received the word of God, they sent 
unto them Peter and John : who when they 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 261 

were come, prayed for them that they might 
receive the Holy Ghost. For He was not 
as yet come upon any of them : but they 
were only baptized in the name of the Lord 
Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon 
them, and they received the Holy Ghost." 



Gradual. Ps. xxxii. 12. 

u Blessed is the nation whose God is 
the Lord : the people whom He hath chosen 
for His inheritance. 55 

V. By the word of the Lord were the 
heavens made, and all the power of them 
by the breath of His mouth. 

Alleluia, Alleluia. (Here all kneel.) 

Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of 
Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of 
Thy love. Alleluia. 

From Septuagesima to Easter, omitting tlie Alleluia 
and the Versicle, say the following Tract. 



Tract. Psalm ciii. 

Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be 
created : and Thou shalt renew the face of 
the earth. 



262 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

V. how good and sweet is Thy Spirit, 
O Lord, in us. (Here all kneel.) 

V. Come, O Holy Spirit, till the hearts 
of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire 
of Thy love. 

During the Paschal time the Gradual is omitted, and 

in its place is said : 

Alleluia, Alleluia. 

V. Send forth thy Spirit, and They shall 
be created, and Thou shalt renew the face 
of the earth. Alleluia. {Here all kneel.) 

V. Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts 
of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the 
fire of Thy love. Alleluia. 



The Holy Gospel. St. John xiv. 23-31. 

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples : 
If any one love me, he will keep my 
word, and my Father will love Mm, and 
We will come to him, and will make our 
abode with him : 

He that loveth me not, keepeth not my 
words. And the word which you have 
heard is not mine ; but the Father's who 
sent me. 



DEVOTIONS AND PEAYEES. 263 

These things have I spoken to you, abid- 
ing with you. 

But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, 
whom the Father will send in my name, 
He will teach you all things, and bring all 
things to your mind, whatsoever I shall 
have said to you. 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
unto you : not as the world giveth do I 
give unto you. Let not your heart be 
troubled, nor let it be afraid. 

You have heard that I said to you : I go 
away, and I come unto you. If you loved 
me, you would indeed be glad : because I 
go to the Father : for the Father is greater 
than I. 

And now I have told you before it come 
to pass : that when it shall come to pass, 
you may believe. 

I will not now speak many things with 
you. For the prince of this world cometh, 
and in me he hath not anything. 

But that the world may know that I love 
the Father : and as the Father hath given 
me commandment, so do I. 



264 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 

Offertory. Psalm lxvii. 

Confirm, O God, that which Thou hast 
wrought in us : from thy temple which is 
in Jerusalem, kings shall offer gifts to 
Thee. 



Secret Prayer. 

Sanctify, O Lord, the gifts we have 
offered, and cleanse our hearts by the 
illumination of the Holy Spirit, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and 
reigneth with Thee in the unity of the 
same Spirit, one God, world without end. 
Amen. 



Communion. Acts ii. 

" And suddenly there came a sound from 
heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, where 
they were sitting ; and they were all filled 
w r ith the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
the wonderful works of God." (In the 
Paschal time, Alleluia.) 



Post- Communion. 
May the gift of the Holy Ghost, O Lord, 



DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 265 

cleanse our hearts, and make them fruit- 
ful, by the infusion of His grace, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and 
reigneth with Thee in the unity of the 
same Spirit, one God, world without <end. 
Amen. 



To implore the special assistance of the Holy Ghost, 
the following prayers are said : 

Prayer. 

O God, to whom every heart is open, and 
every will speaketh ; from whom no secret 
can be hid : purify the thoughts of our 
hearts, by the infusion of the Holy Spirit, 
that we may deserve to love Thee per- 
fectly, and worthily to praise Thy name. 



Secret Prayer. 

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that this ob- 
lation may cleanse the stains of our hearts, 
that they may become a worthy habitation 
of the Holy Ghost. 



Post- Communion. 
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, 



256 DEVOTIONS AND PRAYERS. 



that in answer to our earnest prayers we 
may receive the Holy Spirit, that by His 
grace we may be free from all temptations, 
and deserve the merciful forgiveness of our 
sins. 



